Family of victim sues BCA over Float airbag

https://coloradosun.com/2021/12/21/a...eter-marshall/

Who knows if he tried to pull it, or if it was assembled correctly. I've definitely seen people's airbags not set up correctly, and it's one reason I went with a BD pack this year since it seems more foolproof and easier to practice with.

Also, I don't think it would have mattered in this accident, since there was a secondary slide that also would have buried him even if he was on top thanks to the airbag in the first slide.

Anyway, for discussion...

"The lawsuit argues Backcountry Access should have been aware of “safer alternative designs,” such as a remote or automatic triggering or inflation system.
Another skier in Marshall’s group was wearing an avalanche air bag and attempted to deploy the bag when he was swept off his feet in the slide. It did not inflate.
“Later, he determined that he assembled the trigger mechanism incorrectly,” reads the CAIC report, which did not identify the brand of air bag used by that skier."

How can you sue for that? safer alternative designs? Its always interesting to go to an avalanche class and see people putting skins on for the first time but I never thought to check people's trigger mechanism is set up right hmm.... sad story all around I feel for the widow but I don't know if this is the right approach.

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But the family of the 40-year-old Longmont skier is suing K2 Sports and its company Backcountry Access, which makes the air bag backpack that was not deployed when rescuers found Marshall buried in more than 8 feet of avalanche debris.

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Deeper pockets than the school and guide/instructor.

Same kind of shit turned Chouinard into Black Diamond.

This will not end well for the family. It already hasn't.

Some people's inability to find closure absolutely astounds me. See Taft Conlin.

I guess there is no shortage of lawyers.

It is sad all around.

Vibes to the family

Does someone have proof the bag failed to deploy. Other than the obvious

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Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark

This will not end well for the family. It already hasn't.

Some people's inability to find closure absolutely astounds me. See Taft Conlin.

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Could be subrogation by deceased's life insurance company. Or by employer's life policy.

"Deployment is the critical issue though. A 2014 study of avalanches involving skiers with air bags showed 60% of avalanche accidents involving skiers with un-inflated air bags were because the skier never pulled the trigger. That study also showed 12% of so-called non-inflation incidents were due to user error, including assembling the trigger mechanism incorrectly."
I wonder why SAR was sued
"Two years after the accident, Marshall’s wife and young daughter sued San Juan Search and Rescue,.."

They were going to file suit against San Juan County SAR as well, which is absolutely mind-boggling.

GO MURRICA!
they should try that in Switzerland. Sueing the Rega. That would go down well. [emoji3]

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Could be subrogation by deceased's life insurance company. Or by employer's life policy.

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The complaint is direct from the family. So. No.

I hate litigators. Fucking scum.
Every now and then their actions hold bad people accountable for bad actions. But mostly it’s extortion.

Surprised they dropped the suits against the avy trainers. Either kindness or not enough insurance to collect on. Or. With limited insurance their insurance counsel paid out minimal nuisance money. It’s happened to me. With no chance of liability at trial.

Even BCA doesn’t have enough I’m sure. They can always file bankruptcy. It’s K2 they want.

Assuming they win who’s going to risk making airbags anymore?
How many people die because airbags are now $1,000 more expensive due to liability risk?

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Originally Posted by stealurface831

They were going to file suit against San Juan County SAR as well, which is absolutely mind-boggling.

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Silverton Avalanche School and San Juan County SAR are the same organization. The quote below is from the original reporting in the Colorado Sun.

"(Moss also suspects the family might struggle to enlist those avalanche expert witnesses since they named San Juan County Search and Rescue in the lawsuit. The school, which was founded by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department in the early 1960s and has instructed more than 4,000 students, is an arm of the county’s search and rescue team.)"

After the high profile body recoveries last year, I would imagine that they knew there was no way they would win over a jury.

Wow, sad for the family but what a horse shit lawsuit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by quinn42

Silverton Avalanche School and San Juan County SAR are the same organization. The quote below is from the original reporting in the Colorado Sun.

"(Moss also suspects the family might struggle to enlist those avalanche expert witnesses since they named San Juan County Search and Rescue in the lawsuit. The school, which was founded by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department in the early 1960s and has instructed more than 4,000 students, is an arm of the county’s search and rescue team.)"

After the high profile body recoveries last year, I would imagine that they knew there was no way they would win over a jury.

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This is a mistake by the Colorado Sun. San Juan County Medical Rescue (SJCSAR) and Silverton Avalanche School are separate entities. There is obviously a lot of overlap in team members, but they are not the same organization.

I was in a minor slide in AK--guided. I was shocked and it never occurred to me to pull the trigger. (I was paying extra for an airbag pack.) Maybe I would have figured it out if the slide was bigger. Probably not. (I wound up with head and one arm out and the debris depth was less than a meter.) I don't normally ski in uncontrolled avalanche terrain--not any more. Is there a practical and effective way to train people to pull the trigger?

Not the first time I've read about multiple people hit by a slide during an avalanche class. Does the fact that it's a class blind the instructor to the risk? Is the problem the difficulty of teaching a class with the team spread out?

The full report goes into great detail about the incident. https://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/a...inv&acc_id=685

The original TGR thread here as well. Some good discussion in there before it gets derailed toward the last pages. I know a person who was in this class, talking with him and the discussion locally about what happened that day have changed how I tour in the terrain above treeline on Red Mountain Pass, especially after last season where remote triggering was the name of the game.

In terms of the topic at hand, I hope the lawsuit is dismissed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark

This will not end well for the family. It already hasn't.

Some people's inability to find closure absolutely astounds me. See Taft Conlin.

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"People who sue ski areas should be shot." -Scott Schmidt

Seems like there is a corollary that applies here