| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 3:26:41 PM |
In Canada big judgements are not given out unlike the States and the only person to get any real money will be the lawyer!!
Wrong! The lawyer no doubt took this file on a contingency basis meaning he will get a percentage of what is recovered. The remaining percentage will go to the Plaintiff (the husband).
It is my hope that the lawyer gives the client 6 months to think about dropping case or going forward as 6 months down the road he may want to drop it and move on with his life but will not be able to as the cost of lawyer will be an excessive amount of money and may feel he will have to go through with case to pay for the lawyer fees. I don't think that having to live through this over and over again for many years to come in court is worth any amount of money!! I do believe he will get some money and is entitled but in my opion there isn't enough money in the world, that will lessen the guilt I know he must be feeling!!
The Plaintiff didn't have to file his law suit at this time. As long as the suit is filed before the Statute of Limitations runs out on this case would be sufficient. I would imagine he would have 2 years from the date of the occurence in which to file his Statement of Claim so saying that the lawyer should give is client time to think about it isn't really relevant. The Plaintiff has close to 1.75 years to make that decision.
So overall, saying that the lawyer is the only one benefitting from this is a bunch of horse pooey! This case got Canada-wide attention. The lawyer will stand to gain notoriety as well as making money and the Plaintiff himself stands to make a tidy little sum if the case is not tossed out.
I will say this again, if it was really about finding fault or blame, an inquiry would be held and the Husband has every right to make the request that one be held to look into any wrongdoing in this case. Again I ask that if it wasn't about making money, then why has a law suit been filed rather than go the inquiry route? | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 3:43:46 PM | As I have been through something very similar to this, the lawyer does take this on the case as contingency basis, but takes his 30% or more for his costs plus court costs! If the husband decides that he doesn't want to sue anymore he will have to pay for all the costs. Maybe the husband doesn't know about inquiry route I don't think the average person knows this all they see is there was wrong doing and someone has to pay!! I really do believe it is his grief and guilt talking!!I don't think anyone wants to be responsible for the death of a loved one but even when there is no one to blame the loved one will find a way to either blame themselves, or some one else!!
As well the staue of limitations does the average person know this!! I don't think so!! | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 8:49:58 PM | I don't see how the resort has any culpability in this at all. Sounds like a lawyer looking for a better financial target than s/r organizations and an easier target than the rcmp. Sadly financial judgments are the only meaningful recourse in civil liability matters. See OJ vs Goldman. Hopefully judges can see the problem with that.
The guy has said that he feels 100% responsible for the first three days of the ordeal. What he's mad about is the several days of inaction and incompetence after the heli ski company reported the SOS's. I think he's got a point. The next time this happens, I wonder what the search and rescue response will be?
Everybody keeps bringing up the fact that they were skiing out of bounds like that's a valid reason to ignore distress calls. I just have to wonder though, did the lost people mention that in any of the SOS's they stomped in the snow? Was there a fine print disclaimer under each SOS, like legal ad copy stamped out in really small boots explaining that they were willfully and knowingly skiing out of bounds without prejudice and thus assume full responsibility for any and all ignored signage, acts of God and lack of cursory evidence thusly and duely affected or pertaining to such affect in perpetuity throughout the concordance of sed ordeal? They must have if these are all reasons to let people fend for themselves in the backcountry. Otherwise, the rcmp or s/r probably should have checked out the SOS when it was spotted on day three just in case it was made by someone not skiing out of bounds. If they had done a thorough job and not found any evidence of lost people, then too bad so sad. But they didn't.
If you follow the bouncing ball and the guy wins the legal action, then the result will be paranoid search and rescuers chasing down every possible sign of trouble. Seems like an okay consequence to me. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 9:06:34 PM | If you want to play devil's advocate.....would the woman be alive today if the couple had skiied on the groomed runs?
Would she be alive today if they had not ignored the warnings to stay away from out of bounds areas?
Would she be alive today if they had left word with family, friends or someone at the resort as to their whereabouts and expected time of return?
Would she be alive today if they had actually stayed near their SOS footprints in the snow...seeing as how the SOS was seen....if they had stayed there, they also would have been seen.
They did everything wrong...they paid the price.
Anyone venturing into the back country should know how to prepare properly, in advance...or they have no business being there.
The SOS would have been checked out if the couple had been reported missing....if they had left an itinerary.
An tragic lesson for the husband...but no one else is legally responsible for his mistakes. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 9:44:29 PM | Would she be alive if someone had sent a $500 an hour chopper out for a half hour search?
I agree with one thing and one thing only...a ground search should have been launched, regardless of whether the SOS signals were real.
That's it, that's all the responsibility of SAR and RCMP had.
The SOS would have been checked out if the couple had been reported missing....if they had left an itinerary.
So which is it?
Had the last guy who crashed his car not been talking on his cell phone, he wouldn't have mangled himself; yet we still send help for him. This help must be delivered competently or there is liability there. Like I said, people are generally really stupid and need help at some point in life. If you see a clear sign of distress and you're responsible for checking on distressed people in the backcountry no matter how they got there, you're negligent in your duty. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/9/2009 11:15:09 PM | Hardly contradictory.
Yes, in my opinion, a search should have been done.
If the couple was known to be missing...a search WOULD have been undertaken..SOS signal or not.
I am not disagreeing that a search should have been done....so why try to continue to argue the point???????
I still maintain that this all would have been avoidable if the couple had simply followed the rules for venturing out into the back country and the blame for the incidence lay with them, and them only. I never said they did not deserve to be looked for...but they can not blame others for their own actions.
As for the ridiculous analogy of comparing this to a car accident...I'm sure that if the couple had been in plain sight, such as your ficticious driver....they would have been helped, regardless of the fact that they were stupid in leaving the patrolled resort area....... perhaps if they had STAYED near their SOS signals. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/10/2009 8:32:49 AM | just a random thought....
Why is it that after the wife died the husband is out waving his arms???
What about the previous days?? SOS signal then move... another SOS
signal then move? If they would have stayed near the very first signal
they would have been found on day 2 or 3.
Is he suing so that he is not investigated?? | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/10/2009 11:05:45 AM | I doubt if a handful weren't/aren't thinking the same thing, possibly even the ones who matter, hence this nutty "courtcase" evolution perhaps. Not really my guess, but something foolish happened and a life was lost.
Who knows in this day and age. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/10/2009 11:12:47 AM | I wondered that too but didn't want to imply that the woman wasn't capable of making her own logical decisions and looking out for herself so I just gave her as much credit for the f'up as the guy.
Is he suing so that he is not investigated??
I think he'd probably lay extremely low and just disappeare all together, or at the very least not draw any kind of unnecessary scrutiny on himself had he done her in.
If they would have stayed near the very first signal
they would have been found on day 2 or 3.
They couldn't stay out in the open because of the wind and the snow, so they headed for the trees so they didn't freeze to death sooner. And they had no idea there would be a helicopter flying over that location anyway. But they did see several choppers using a common flight path several kilometers away, so they walked for that proven flight path location where he was eventually found by a helicopter pilot. Hind sight is a wonderful thing, but you can't blame them for acting completely logically at the moment. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/11/2009 2:20:20 PM | | Hard to beleive that everyone is so focused on how they got there in the first place which is largely IRRELAVENT to the point of this lawsuit. Would it have made any difference if those were SOS's made by someone ELSE entirely? Threy were not properly investigated, period. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/12/2009 4:48:44 PM | flygirl ... I too wonder about the whole situation. I found it really odd that the woman died 7 days(?) into it, and yet he was fine. I've gotta admit I became pretty curious as to the nature of their relationship, and if this wasn't a creative way to get rid of the wife.
Yeah, that's horrible of me to think of ...
Anyway, I would say NO to the lawsuit. If they chose to venture out of bounds, it was their decision to take the risks. No one seems really at fault, and, really ... a nice settlement won't bring back his wife... | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/13/2009 1:37:06 AM |
Feb 17th:
"February 17, a local heli-skiing company received a call from an off-duty ski guide touring the area. He advised that he had located an SOS sign and strange tracks west of the KHMR. The resort was contacted to check if they had any reports of missing skiers.
I think the RCMP and/or Search & Rescue should have been contacted at this point and not just KHMR, considering there was a vehicle in KHMR's SECURE parking area that had been abandoned by guests who had checked out. If they checked out... why was their car still there 2 days later?
According to the RCMP, it appears that at this time that the Golden and District Search and Rescue (GADSAR) and the local RCMP detachment were not contacted."
"On Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort (KHMR) was notified by Purcell Helicopter Skiing of SOS tracks in the snow outside of the resort's controlled recreation area. KHMR management immediately contacted Golden Search and Rescue. The resort also conducted a base area search which included checking for vehicles left in surface area parking lots over night.
Were they contacted or weren't they?? And, what about the abandoned vehicles in the secure parking area?
KHMR also informed night-time snow grooming operators and security personnel to watch for any back-country skiers entering the ski area. There were no results of this search producing any evidence of potentially missing persons." There wouldn't be a sign of them if they were missing and not entering the ski area. True the couple should have stayed w/ their SOS signals, but it probably appeared to them they were being ignored and they probably did what they thought they had to do to live.
Feb 21:
"February 21, a group returning from a ski trip saw 2 more SOS signs and notified a local heli-skiing company who in turn reported it to the Golden RCMP. A search was not called at that point."
"On Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, the Golden RCMP informed KHMR that the Purcell Helicopter Skiing had provided them (RCMP) with information about more SOS tracks in the back-country. The Golden RCMP opened a file and had no reports of any missing persons."
Feb 24:
"On February 24, Golden RCMP activated search and rescue after they were notified that an individual appeared to be in need of assistance. Police were called when a helicopter pilot spotted a man waving in an out-of-bounds area near KHMR. Search and rescue subsequently attended the location and rescued Blackburn. They also located and retrieved the deceased Fortin."
"After the search and eventual rescue and recovery on Feb. 24, the RCMP received more information that led to the discovery of the couple's car in the secured underground parking lot of the hotel." ~the car was not located until the 24th of Feb. So no proof or reports of a missing persons or person until they were found.....
FAR too late for this info regarding the vehicle to reach police. KHMR Should have been more than aware of an abandoned vehicle on THEIR property belonging to guests who had checked out. They should have been aware of this on Feb 15th or Feb 17th, let alone Feb 24. I work in the business and this is a duty of the hotel security.
I'm not saying sue or don't sue. But I see the hotel dropping the ball on a couple of areas here and RCMP/Search & Rescue admitted there was some negligence as well.
I believe this death was preventable, and agree 150% that it starts with the couple's responsibility to their own welfare. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/26/2009 12:27:10 PM | I can't even imagine what this guy's state of mind was in the days and weeks after this happened. Well, I sort of can.
One night, my wife and I were lying in bed watching television when she suddenly sat straight up and looked around the room. I asked her what was wrong. I thought maybe she forgot something that was important and suddenly remembered it. Like maybe she forgot to turn off the oven or something. Instead, she told me her head was numb and she couldn't feel her head. I had no idea what was going on. I told her to quickly get dressed and I would drive her to the hospital. Then she vomited on the bedroom floor. I remained calm for her sake, but inside I was hysterical. She got dressed, I put my arm around her and when we started going down the stairs, her legs gave out. At that point, I laid her on the sofa and called 911. I kept asking my wife how she was feeling and relayed the information back to the 911 operator while I waited for someone to show up.
And I waited and waited and waited. I live in a large suburban town just outside of Seattle. I ouldn't figure out why it took so long. Finally, paramedics showed up. They sat in their vehicle long enough for me to get angry and go out there to tell them to hurry. Then they asked my wife countless questions. Many of the answers were already relayed to the 911 operator. Then I found out that they were waiting for an ambulance to show up, which it finally did. The ambulance EMTs repeated the same countless questions. I just wanted them to put her on the gurney and take her to the hospital. I could have drove there and back a few times by then. At some point, one of the EMTs told me he thought it was either meningitis or a brain aneurysm. Then my wife started having seizures and went unconcious. One of the EMTs said, "OK it's done now." Then they took her to the hospital.
When I got there, the ER doctor told me it was a very serious cerebral hemmorhage caused by an aneurysm. They couldn't operate until the brain swelling subsided and she probably wouldn't survive the night. The neurosurgeon said there was some hope that she will survive, but she will not be the same. I couldn't believe that they knew what the problem was but couldn't fix it. The only thing there was to do was sit and wait. She was declared brain dead the next morning. Her family and I made the humane decision to take her off life support.
Her brother, who is an MD, told me there was nothing anyone could do. A brain aneurysm is like a time bomb. Once it explodes it is too late. I am almost certain that my sense of timing during the incident was distorted. But still, the questions were there for many months. How long did it take for the paramedics to show up? What about the ambulance? What time did I place the call and what time did she arrive at the hospital? Was it really necessary to ask so many questions? If they knew it was an aneurysm, why did they seemingly wait for her to have seizures and go into a coma? Was that proper protocol? Could they have operated if she got there sooner? Should I have just drove her to the hospital? Could her life have been saved? Could other lives be saved in the future? Should I sue for a nominal amount just to get the answers and possibly save future lives?
In the end, I talked to a few doctor acquaintances and her brother and decided not to pursue a lawsuit. I let her rest in peace. I feel a little guilt for not driving her to the hospital and getting her there sooner, but not near the guilt this guy must be feeling. I can relate as to why he filed a lawsuit, and as some people have suggested, I think he would drop the lawsuit if there was a waiting period. I think he just needs time to accept the fact that his wife is gone. Cut him a bit of slack because he is probably not thinking clearly. I wish him and his family the best. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/26/2009 9:34:11 PM | I am saddened by your loss. There are always so many what ifs when something like this happens. I wasn't with my husband when he died, he'd been on a mountain bike trip between Canmore and Banff and had a massive heart attack and died instantly. He was 48.
I wish you the best and hope you let that guilt go. | |
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| Widower sues Mounties, B.C. resort ---Yes, or No?
Posted: 5/30/2009 10:58:18 PM | It is never your own fault. There is always someone else to blame.
He really has no one to blame but himself, he put them into that situation the moment they crossed over the boundary line, and unfortunately his wife passed away as a result. No one takes responsibility for their actions anymore, it's always someone elses fault.
It was a terrible tragedy on a number of levels, the break downs in communication, but it was ultimately his own fault for skiing out of bounds. | |
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