John J. Clair, National Chairman
David L. Olson, National Legal Counsel
At the annual meeting this summer, the NSP Board of Directors adopted the report of the Legal Review Committee, which included the recommendation that personal risk management information be communicated to the patroller/candidate level through the POB medium, along with a personal letter being mailed to every patroller/candidate this fall.
This is the first of these communications. Patrol representatives are asked to copy the attached letter and to distribute it to each member of their NSP patrol. Additional information on the subject will be sent to every member in the fall mailing.
It is very important that every member of the NSP understand and appreciate the risks associated with patrolling, and make informed choices to manage their personal risks. It is also important for every member to understand the relationships between the patroller, the NSP, and the ski area management, and how those relationships affect personal risk management issues.
Please contact your division director or division legal counsel if you have any questions.
The NSP Board of Directors and the National Legal Committee feel it is very important to continue to provide members with personal risk management information to assist individuals in assessing and dealing with the possibility of injury or involvement in litigation as a consequence of their patrolling activities. This letter will discuss some of the inherent risks in being a patroller and identify some of the risk management resources available to patrollers.
This is not a new subject, suddenly discovered as a consequence of the Kane lawsuit. NSP publications have long provided risk management information for the member. Chapter 6 of the current (fourteenth edition) of the Ski Patroller’s Manual is entitled "Legal Issues and Risk Management," and includes discussion of the risks faced by patrollers. The NSP Policies and Procedures addresses risk management from the standpoint of the NSP (§3.3) and the patroller (§3.3.11). The Spring 1992 issue of Ski Patrol Magazine contained an article entitled "Personal Risk Management for the Volunteer," which is an excellent, and still timely discussion of the legal risks faced by volunteer patrollers. In the Spring/Summer 1999 issue of Ski Patrol Magazine another excellent article, "Legal, Insurance Considerations," discusses current legal risk issues and developments, and various insurance policies from the patroller’s perspective, i.e. homeowner’s insurance, NSP insurance, and ski area insurance. The articles should be required reading for all patrollers and candidates. Many divisions and regions have also addressed risk management issues through presentations by legal or risk management advisors at meetings, refreshers, or in their newsletters. Members are encouraged to avail themselves of local resources as well as the written information noted above if they have questions about personal risk management issues.
In addressing risks involved in patrolling it is helpful to look at the role played by the NSP and the ski area. The sport of skiing involves risks of injury that are inherent to the sport itself. We see evidence of that every day as part of our patrolling activities, and it is those risks that give rise to the need for patrollers. By skiing, one assumes certain risks of injury inherent to the sport. By patrolling, we expose ourselves to the same inherent risks of skiing, but encounter additional and greater risks because we undertake to provide emergency care and transport to other injured skiers. While recreational skiing permits a choice of slopes, or even whether to ski, patrolling requires that we ski the run on which the injured skier is found, regardless of difficulty. Snow and weather conditions may drive all but the most hardy off the slopes, yet the patroller must be prepared to respond to an accident as long as the ski area remains open, regardless of the conditions on the hill. Further, we undertake the transport of the injured skier to the next level of care by running a loaded toboggan down that slope, again without regard to the weather or snow conditions. By undertaking this responsibility as patrollers, we assume risks of injury to ourselves that can be reduced through training and practice, but not avoided. Those injuries can range from life-threatening to income-threatening disabilities. The NSP does not provide insurance that covers such losses. The ski area may, in certain circumstances (or states) provide some protection through workers compensation insurance. Thus, as part of the decision to patrol, it behooves every patroller to ask him/herself what they will do to protect themselves from such personal losses, and whether or how their current insurance policies (health, disability, and homeowners) or financial resources will address those losses.
The NSP offers educational courses that provide the training and skills necessary to ski patrolling. With NSP credentialed training and skills, NSP members are accepted at ski areas across the county as members of the local ski area patrol. The NSP provides liability insurance for its approved courses and training activities that covers members for claims arising out of the approved course or activity. Liability, however, is predicated upon negligence, not injury itself. There is no medical expense coverage provided by the NSP. The NSP insurance policy specifically excludes coverage for on-the-hill patrol operations or related activities undertaken at the direction of, and under the control of, ski area management.
The ski area at which you patrol is usually required to provide patrol services as part of the operation of the ski area. Accordingly, the ski area is responsible for the operation of the ski patrol, and the activities of the patrollers on its slopes. This usually means liability insurance will be provided by the ski area that will respond to claims against patrollers arising out of patrolling operations. Your area probably has liability insurance that covers you while patrolling for that area, but you should not assume that is the case. Your patrol representative should be able to answer questions about liability and other insurance coverages provided by the ski area. Depending on the response, you may wish to seek additional coverages through your own insurance resources.
Each NSP member must evaluate the risks associated with patrolling and how those risks may affect him or her individually. The information in this letter and the written materials referred to earlier are intended to help members make informed decisions about managing those risks. A personal risk management assessment (and annual reassessment) is an essential task for every member. As part of this process, bear in mind the NSP member, the ski area and the NSP each assume responsibility for their part in the patrolling experience. It is important that each role be clearly understood and accepted by each participant.
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