|
Post by Admin/ Traveler on Feb 12, 2018 21:59:30 GMT
Link to article "federal appeals court has upheld a $41.7 million jury verdict for a Connecticut private school student who was severely and permanently disabled after developing encephalitis from a tick bite while on a class trip to China. The case, which has been litigated for nine years, established that schools in Connecticut are obligated to protect children in their care, a conclusion that insurers, schools and other groups have warned could reduce educational travel opportunities for students. The suit was brought in federal court in Bridgeport in 2009 by the parents of Cara Munn of New York, who at age 15 and at the conclusion of her freshman year at the private Hotchkiss School in Salisbury, was bitten by a tick and developed encephalitis while hiking in a remote, mountainous area of China during a school study program. “She is gratified that the justice system worked,” her lawyer, Antonio Ponvert said Friday. “She is also happy and proud that her case might encourage custodians of minor children to be more careful.” As a result of the insect bite, Munn suffered permanent brain damage and became seriously disabled. She has lost control over some movement, has lost problem-solving ability and is unable to speak. Her condition is expected to worsen with age. She and her family sued the school for negligence and her jury returned the staggering verdict in 2013, ordering the school to pay her and her family $10.25 million in economic damages and $31.5 million for pain and suffering. Lawyers for Hotchkiss argued that the school had no duty to warn Munn and her parents against contracting tick-borne encephalitis on 2007 trip because such an event could not have been foreseen. The U.S. Court of appeals for the Second Circuit, which took the appeal, sent the case the the state Supreme Court for the resolution of two, central questions: Are Connecticut schools obligated by state policy and law to warn of the danger of contracting an insect-borne illness on field trips? And was a $41.7 million verdict excessive? The state’s high court said last summer there is an “affirmative duty” to warn and upheld the verdict. The case returned to the second circuit, where a panel of three judges published an unsigned summary order Tuesday dismissing the school’s remaining appellate claims and affirming the verdict." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even small victories can be the 'push off' for more people to get the help (and protections) they deserve!
|
|
|
Post by alyeska on Feb 24, 2018 1:08:44 GMT
Link to article "federal appeals court has upheld a $41.7 million jury verdict for a Connecticut private school student who was severely and permanently disabled after developing encephalitis from a tick bite while on a class trip to China. The case, which has been litigated for nine years, established that schools in Connecticut are obligated to protect children in their care, a conclusion that insurers, schools and other groups have warned could reduce educational travel opportunities for students. The suit was brought in federal court in Bridgeport in 2009 by the parents of Cara Munn of New York, who at age 15 and at the conclusion of her freshman year at the private Hotchkiss School in Salisbury, was bitten by a tick and developed encephalitis while hiking in a remote, mountainous area of China during a school study program. “She is gratified that the justice system worked,” her lawyer, Antonio Ponvert said Friday. “She is also happy and proud that her case might encourage custodians of minor children to be more careful.” As a result of the insect bite, Munn suffered permanent brain damage and became seriously disabled. She has lost control over some movement, has lost problem-solving ability and is unable to speak. Her condition is expected to worsen with age. She and her family sued the school for negligence and her jury returned the staggering verdict in 2013, ordering the school to pay her and her family $10.25 million in economic damages and $31.5 million for pain and suffering. Lawyers for Hotchkiss argued that the school had no duty to warn Munn and her parents against contracting tick-borne encephalitis on 2007 trip because such an event could not have been foreseen. The U.S. Court of appeals for the Second Circuit, which took the appeal, sent the case the the state Supreme Court for the resolution of two, central questions: Are Connecticut schools obligated by state policy and law to warn of the danger of contracting an insect-borne illness on field trips? And was a $41.7 million verdict excessive? The state’s high court said last summer there is an “affirmative duty” to warn and upheld the verdict. The case returned to the second circuit, where a panel of three judges published an unsigned summary order Tuesday dismissing the school’s remaining appellate claims and affirming the verdict." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even small victories can be the 'push off' for more people to get the help (and protections) they deserve! Wow! I hate to say this, but I don’t think the school should have been liable. I’m glad that she has money to pay for her medical bills and her care, but would the school be also liable if she had gotten bitten by a tick on the school grounds? Ticks are everywhere. How could a school prevent a tick bite? I used to be a teacher, and I wouldn’t have ever thought that I’d have to warn against ticks, mosquitoes, or biting flies. I used to take my students on field trips, and any number of things could have happened. I traveled all over the world when I was in school, including Russia during the Cold War. I was in Denmark when a bomb went off at the airport I had flown into. My parents and I knew I was taking risks just by traveling. My daughter will be traveling to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands this summer. She’ll be snorkeling in areas where there are sea lions, sharks, and other dangerous sea life. She wants to go. I want her to go. Of course there are possibilities that she could be hurt. These are risks we’re willing to take in order to for her to have the experience. I’m really confused by this! I have known for many years that ticks carry Lyme disease. Would that have stopped me from traveling, hiking, camping, or being around animals? Of course not. This girl was very blessed to have the opportunity to go to China. Is the problem that she didn’t receive proper medical care? I just don’t see how the school could have warned about every single bad thing that could have happened. Her plane could have been hijacked by terrorists. She could have gotten food poisoning. She could have been kidnapped. She could have fallen and broken her neck. She could have been in a car wreck. Are the schools obligated to list every single thing that could go wrong? What am I missing? I don’t understand this at all.
|
|
|
Post by Admin/ Traveler on Feb 24, 2018 16:58:48 GMT
Considering how expensive it is to not only treat these infections, and (for this girl) to live with the damages she was left with, I was happy to see this. Did I want the school to be help liable? Not necessarily, but this girl was left with serious issues after this trip and now will need help the rest of her life. I did find it very interesting that the courts upheld this, after so many attempts - but we are living in a society when someone brings us the hot drink we ordered - and WE spill it on OURSELVES, we can still sue and win against the company that sold us said hot beverage. Now, that's truly baffling to me!!!
|
|
|
Post by alyeska on Mar 1, 2018 0:05:14 GMT
Considering how expensive it is to not only treat these infections, and (for this girl) to live with the damages she was left with, I was happy to see this. Did I want the school to be help liable? Not necessarily, but this girl was left with serious issues after this trip and now will need help the rest of her life. I did find it very interesting that the courts upheld this, after so many attempts - but we are living in a society when someone brings us the hot drink we ordered - and WE spill it on OURSELVES, we can still sue and win against the company that sold us said hot beverage. Now, that's truly baffling to me!!! Yeah, I’m with you on the hot drink thing. I’m also VERY glad this girl got what she needed. I just can’t see that this would work for everyone. I was most likely bitten in the Shenandoah National Forest, and there were no tick warning signs or anything. Would I sue them? No. Maybe if my child were going through it I would though. It’s SO different when it’s your child! I hate this disease, but I would never have stopped hiking in those mountains because of it. As a matter of fact, as soon as I’m well enough, I’m going hiking again! My family has a big mountain hiking trip planned for spring break this year. I may have to stay at the cabin while they go. It’ll be my first time missing out on something like that. My youngest is pretty mad that I probably won’t be able to go. He really loves for our entire family to be together, but I don’t know how I can possibly do it. I even had a little difficulty last time even though I wasn’t nearly this sick, which I mentioned to him. It was only a couple of years ago, so he remembers. The worst thing would be to get halfway up a trail and not be able to get back. It’s not like they can bring a Jeep or ambulance where we go. They’re single file trails. If we ran into a bear, I’d be toast. Man! I used to have nightmares about that when the kids were little and I used to hike with them alone! I always carried a huge walking stick. And those were only black bears! We saw a bunch of different types of them out in Yellowstone last summer, even grizzlies. I know it’s terrible, but I hate them. I’ll never forget getting an email saying one was in the neighborhood playground. I remember drilling the kids on what to do if we saw one. They still know if I ask them. “Get behind Mama!”
|
|
|
Post by Admin/ Traveler on Mar 1, 2018 0:57:52 GMT
I have to agree that it's very different when it's your kids. Even though my kids didn't have these infections (thankfully!!), I knew they were born to a mother (me) with bad health - and so I worked hard to get them and keep them healthy. Even so, we of course had issues happen. My daughter had some odd food allergies to rice and fruit, and every time I laid her down, she stopped breathing until we figured it out and kept her away from those foods. My son just had ear infections, but it was the infections were on steroids! His baby teeth abscessed so frequently (while we waited for him to be a year old before surgery) that he had to have two different pulpectomies (root canal on baby teeth), adult strength antibiotics and more. I was an absolute mess during those times!!! I can't imagine if they had gotten these infections from me!!
While I would agree with you that you likely shouldn't be trying long hikes, what about going just far enough with them to know that you can still get back??? That would give you some time with them on the hike. And, please don't forget the bug sprays!!! I prefer to use permithrin and treat my clothes for the most part - still trying to find a very effective Essential Oil mix that will work well enough even for here.
We have bears around here. One was in the neighborhood last year and we all have to be really careful with our dogs and letting them out during these times. This is when I really love my neighbors!! We all watch for these things and make sure each other knows when we have a bear or panther or bobcat around. None of us have small kids around anymore (they've all grown up!), but most of us do have dogs and/or cats we want to protect.
|
|
|
Post by alyeska on Mar 1, 2018 15:27:28 GMT
I have to agree that it's very different when it's your kids. Even though my kids didn't have these infections (thankfully!!), I knew they were born to a mother (me) with bad health - and so I worked hard to get them and keep them healthy. Even so, we of course had issues happen. My daughter had some odd food allergies to rice and fruit, and every time I laid her down, she stopped breathing until we figured it out and kept her away from those foods. My son just had ear infections, but it was the infections were on steroids! His baby teeth abscessed so frequently (while we waited for him to be a year old before surgery) that he had to have two different pulpectomies (root canal on baby teeth), adult strength antibiotics and more. I was an absolute mess during those times!!! I can't imagine if they had gotten these infections from me!! While I would agree with you that you likely shouldn't be trying long hikes, what about going just far enough with them to know that you can still get back??? That would give you some time with them on the hike. And, please don't forget the bug sprays!!! I prefer to use permithrin and treat my clothes for the most part - still trying to find a very effective Essential Oil mix that will work well enough even for here. We have bears around here. One was in the neighborhood last year and we all have to be really careful with our dogs and letting them out during these times. This is when I really love my neighbors!! We all watch for these things and make sure each other knows when we have a bear or panther or bobcat around. None of us have small kids around anymore (they've all grown up!), but most of us do have dogs and/or cats we want to protect. Dang! You’ve been through A LOT!!! Your poor babies! I had a colicky one, but I never had anything like you did! Good idea about the hike. I can take a book, pillow, and blanket in the car. I really hate missing out on things. I’ll have to get some permethrin. I can’t find essential oils that work either. I bought some from a lady who swore her stuff worked on mosquitoes, but it didn’t help me at all. I sure smelled good though! I’ve never really had to deal with panthers or bobcats. Gators though! When I lived in Florida, they were a big problem. I’ve had nightmares about them too. They (and bears) were always trying to get my children! I have a very good imagination and can’t ever seem to keep my worries at bay! We have coyotes and foxes around here, but our dogs are big enough to chase them off. We have one fox that is constantly after our chickens and duck. He hasn’t gotten one yet!
|
|
|
Post by Admin/ Traveler on Mar 1, 2018 18:03:23 GMT
Ha ha ha!! Oh, the stories I could tell about bobcats and chickens!!! We had one in particular that wanted the chickens sooo bad!! This little bobcat had been pestering our chickens (and getting one once in a while), and while I did fire off a few rounds at him from time to time (not to hit him, to scare him off), he never took the hint very well - until I "hot wired" the chicken coop!!! I used a spare electrical fence charger I had, and wrapped it around and on top of the chicken coop. The "holler" we heard from him later that night was not only spooky, but something I was excited to hear!! Ha ha ha!! I did leave it up for a few more weeks, but he finally got the hint!!! I didn't used to worry about the foxes, coyotes, bobcats, bears or panthers around here, as we had large dogs back then, but once the kids and I started traveling for work with my hubby, as those babies passed away, we got smaller dogs that are better suited for traveling in cramped spaces. So, now I worry!! Heck, our cat was nearly killed by an owl!!! But, I'll take dealing with those critters any day over dealing with gators!!! LOL! I do have to say that watching my kids go through that was hard on me, but that's nothing compared to what some kids end up going through that are born to mom's that have these as active infections. I was truly blessed. Yep, living in a subtropical climate here, we have tons of bugs. I don't know if the EO's really aren't strong enough, or if I'm just surrounded by too many bugs! LOL! I still use Deet - I'd rather detox from Deet than risk dealing with another new infection.....again!!!! This being my second time around already, I don't want to see what the "3rd time's a charm" actually means with them!
|
|