Girl Scout Insurance and the Liability of Leaders

At some point most Girl Scout leaders are told that the $25 registration fee includes insurance.  However, I've learned over the years that many Girl Scout leaders do not understand what this insurance covers or how it works.  This post is an attempt to explain it.

For the record, I am not an attorney, nor do I give legal advice.  I'm a paralegal and gained some of this information working on a case in which my local council and a leader were sued. The example I use below is totally different from what happened in my council.  

What Happens When a Girl Scout Gets Hurt?

Luckily, most of the time, when a Girl Scout gets hurt, the troop first aider gets out a band aid or some ice, gives the girl a hug and sends her on her way.

But what about when that's not enough?  What about if medical care is needed?  That's where the accident insurance that comes with your membership kicks in.  The policy provisions are here. 

In short, this accident insurance is "no fault"--it doesn't matter whose fault it is that someone got hurt; this insurance pays as long as the person was a registered Girl Scout participating in a Girl Scout function. In general, this insurance provides up to $15,000 in coverage for a covered injury; however, after the first $130,  the Girl Scout insurance only pays what other insurance does not.  This insurance is meant to cover co-pays and deductibles for injuries of limited duration and relatively simple medical care.  It reduces parents' out-of-pocket expenses for treating a broken leg or sprained wrist or similar injuries.  

However, if a girl is seriously injured at a Girl Scout function and you are the leader, you have to expect to be sued.  They will also probably sue your council and any vendor whose property you were on/using at the time.  

A Lawsuit From Start to Finish

A Cause of Action

Let's say one of your Girl Scouts ended up in the campfire and sustained major burns over much of her body. She spent several painful months in the hospital and she will never be the same.  Obviously her medical bills, even with insurance, are likely to exceed the $15,000 limits of the accident insurance.  Besides that, her parents have probably missed a lot of work, she will have ongoing medical  bills the rest of her life, and, unfortunately, because of her disfigurement, she is likely to suffer economically and socially the rest of her life, besides any ongoing pain from the injury.

The first "ingredient" of a lawsuit is that something happened to someone.  As noted above, the accident insurance provided to all members at all events is designed to ward off lawsuits for minor injuries, though it is always possible that someone will choose to sue anyway. 

The Insurance Claim

The first thing that will happen is that the parents' attorney will approach the council about insurance coverage.  He will be told about the accident insurance and will make a claim.  However, if he will also tell them to put their liability carrier on notice.  Each council has a general liability policy with substantial limits.  One reason the Safety Activities Checkpoints vary from council to council is because of whether the  council's insurer is willing to bear a particular risk, or how much they charge to cover it.

If the girl's treatment is finished before the deadline for filing suit, the attorney may write a demand letter to the council and/or their insurer, asking them to pay a certain amount for damages.  This would be the amount of the medical bills plus a sum for loss of future earnings, lost wages of the parents, and pain and suffering.  Depending on what happened, the attorneys for the council and its insurer may decide to settle at this point.  

The Lawsuit

If the claim cannot be settled, or if the girl is still treating as the deadline to file suit draws near, the attorney files suit.  He or she looks at what happened, whose fault it was, and who has the ability to pay, and draws up a document that is called either a "Complaint" or a "Petition".  This document names the people who are filing suit, who they are suing, and tells what happened, and why they think it was the fault of each defendant.  

As my boss said in court once, every piece of paper has two sides.  Complaints are written on one side--no impartial person checks the truthfulness of any allegation before the Complaint is filed with the court.  Once the complaint is filed and the defendants served, each defendant files an Answer which looks at each allegation in the Petition and either admits it or denies it.  The other thing that can happen at this stage is that defendants can make claims against each other (Cross-claims) or against people the plaintiff didn't name.  For example, if the plaintiff sued the leader, but not the council, the leader's attorney would file a third-party demand saying that she was an agent of the council which should be financially responsible for her.  If the plaintiff sued the council but not the leader, the council may, depending on the circumstances, file a third party demand saying that they aren't responsible for the accident, the leader is, because she didn't follow proper procedures.  If both the leader and the council were sued, both would probably file cross-claims saying that the other was responsible 

Discovery

Once all parties have answered, the discovery process starts. Parties propound written questions and requests for documents to other parties.  They can also issue subpoenas to third parties.  In our case about the girl in the fire, the plaintiffs will ask questions about the leader's training to supervise fires, the safety rules she enforced, how the council regulates fires, how the council certifies leaders, how much experience the leader has and similar questions, and ask for the leader's version of what happened.  Defendants will send the plaintiff discovery about current and prior injuries, medical treatment and economic losses.  They will also subpoena the plaintiff's medical records.  The purpose of discovery is for both sides to learn what happened, what problems it caused, how much it cost, and what caused the accident. 

After written discovery, depositions begin.  Depositions are sworn testimony taken in front of a court reporter.  Attorneys get to question the other parties in the case, as well as any witnesses, medical providers or hired experts. If there is a lawsuit about a girl injured on your watch, you will probably have to give a deposition.  Your attorney will go over what to do and what types of questions will likely be asked. 

Settlement Negotiations

Once discovery is largely complete all parties know the stories of the other.  To stick with the same example, everyone has heard the girl tell them how she remembers ending up in the fire.  They have heard the leader tell what she remembers about the day, how the fire circle was set up, what she told the girls about the rules around the fire and what she remembers about the injured girl's behavior that day.  The other adults who were there have also been questioned.  The girls' parents have talked about how the injury has affected their lives.  Her doctors have talked about her medical problems and what can be expected in the future.  A council representative has testified about how leaders are trained in fire safety, the rules the leader was supposed to be following, any investigation they did, and any other subjects the opposing attorneys thought was relevant.  

After all these depositions and written discovery, everyone usually has a pretty good idea of what happened and why.  If all the adults there talk about the leader as a conscientious rule follower and the girl as an uncontrollable brat whose mother was constantly contradicting the leader, and state that the injured got mad at a girl across the fire circle and got up and ran at that girl, oblivious to the fact that there was a fire in the middle, most of the blame is going to be attributed to the girl--though the leader may be tagged with some for taking a a child known to be uncontrollable into a situation where she needed to be controlled.  On the other hand, if the leader had handed the sweet obedient  girl the can of lighter fluid to spray on the fire, she's going to take the fall--unless she produces documentation that the council taught her to spray lighter fluid on the fire, in which case, they'll end up with much of the blame.  

The other thing all parties have a pretty good idea about at this point is what the damages are.  They have the medical records and bills.  They have heard from experts what the future medical bills are likely to be.  Economists have testified about how much less her earnings are likely to be because of this injury.  

At this point, the question is who pays what.  In my examples it was pretty clear whose fault the accident was; in real life it may or may not be that easy.  There is also the question of who has the money to pay, and if any party is responsible for another.  Generally in the case of an injured Girl Scout, the attorney for the leader will try to get the council to defend and indemnify her, stating that she was acting as their agent.  If the leader doesn't have money or a big insurance policy, the plaintiff will also say that the council is responsible for the actions of the leader.  In the vast majority of cases, when it all comes out in the wash,the insurance companies divide the damages in a manner that takes into account how much insurance coverage exists and how much responsibility each insured has for the incident.  

Trial

If the attorneys can't settle the case, then it proceeds to trial.  For all the trials you see on TV, realize that less than 1% of cases are actually tried.  Generally if cases are tried it is because of one of these factors:

• Disputed Liability:  One or more parties strongly believes that based on the facts, the accident wasn't their fault.  Other parties feel just as strongly that it was;
• Disputed Damages:  The parties have very different ideas about what the plaintiffs damages are, or whether the problems alleged are related to the accident

At the end of the trial the jury or judge will be asked to allocate responsibility for the accident between all parties, including the plaintiff.  So, back to my story, if the jury finds that the girl was an uncontrollable brat with a problem mother, they may allocate responsibility 85% to the girl, 10%  to the mom, and 5% to the leader for taking the brat to camp in the first place since she knew she couldn't control the girl.  If the leader had the girl squirt the fire with lighter fluid, they may find her 100% at fault.  

Depending on what has been learned during the case and the law of the state, the judge may determine whether or not the leader was in effect working for the council such that they were responsible for her, or not, or the judge may leave this for the jury to decide.  

Next the jury or judge will be asked to determine the damages.  They have to determine the "special" damages, meaning the things you have bills for, or the things that can be computed by experts.  The medical bills are $565,764 and the future lost wages are $1,234,567 and the future medical expenses are $432,234.  Finally, the determine an amount for "general" damages like pain and suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life and so on.  In some cases they may be asked to award punitive damages as well, but those are not common.  This is a number than can be very big if you are talking about a very painful or long-term injury to a child.  

So Who Pays?

Once the verdict has been rendered, the math is done and the parties cast in judgment are responsible for that amount.  If the total verdict in this case was $5 million and the girl was 85% at fault and her mother was $10% at fault, then they are only able to collect $250,000 plus interest.  In that case, assuming the leader had done the proper paperwork and had the required training, it is likely that the council would be found to be responsible for her, and its insurer would pay the judgment.  On the other hand, if the leader had not done the proper paperwork or training and handed the girl the can of lighter fluid, the council would argue that they should not have to be responsible for someone who broke so many of their rules. The judge would generally decide whether the council was responsible, or not.

Should Leaders Be Worried?

Should leaders be worried?  Are lawsuits likely?  Fortunately, leaders are not sued often, and most of the time, if they have done things the right way, the council's large insurance policy will be found to cover them.  However, the further out of compliance with council policies you are, the easier it will be for council to distance itself from you.  

If you haven't done so, sit down and read your council's Volunteer Essentials from cover to cover.  Yea, I know, not the most exciting reading in the world but it and other materials given to new leaders should give you a run-down on required paperwork and a basic idea of things that are not allowed (in my council, for example, we are not allowed to do things at private homes).  Before you take the girls to do anything that is not a council sponsored program, read the Safety Activities Checkpoints for the activity and make sure you are following the rules. Doing this reduces the chances of injury and puts you under your council's umbrella should anything happen. 

Generally speaking, in most states, an insurer's duty to defend is bigger than their duty to indemnify.  What that means is if someone makes an allegation against you that, if proven, would trigger coverage under an insurance policy, generally that insurer has to defend you, even if that insurer is trying to distance itself from you.  Back to our example of the leader with the lighter fluid, the lawsuit would allege that the leader was acting as an agent of the council, and that would generally trigger the need for the council's insurer to provide a defense attorney for her.  The insurance company would hire a different lawyer to defend the council, and that attorney would argue that so many rules were broken as to take the leader out from under the council's policy.  If successful, the council's insurer would not be responsible for any judgment. 

Depending on how much you earn and how many assets you have, you may want to consider a personal liability policy, and check with your insurance agent to see if your homeowners' policy would cover claims brought against you as a leader.