Posted on 01/31/2009 4:25:13 PM PST by george76
A federal judge has declined to throw out a lawsuit against the government filed by the family of an 11-year-old boy who was mauled to death by a black bear.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled against the government's claim that federal agencies had immunity from being sued for negligence in the case...
a black bear pulled him from his tent and killed him.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
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Can we get Gore to camp there....now?
The Pleasant Grove boy was camping with his family in June 2007 in American Fork Canyon when a black bear pulled him from his tent and killed him.
Should have killed ever bear in the woods to make sure that the people were safe.
$100 billion in punitives against the government, I say.
Gee whiz, is this not an act of nature? Are bears on the government payroll?
negligent, HOW?
I don’t camp cause of Bears, snakes...my idea of camping is a beachfront luxury hotel...but I don’t see how you can camp “in the wild” and then blame the govt if a bear attacks.
one lawsuit is against the state of Utah and Division of Wildlife Resources that the state failed to warn potential users of the imminent danger of a “Level III” nuisance black bear and
the other in Federal district court against Forest service agents that they failed to notify potential users of a “Level III” nuisance black bear.
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/260604/
Ives, 11, was killed by a black bear on June 17, 2007, while camping with his family about a mile above the Timpooneke Campground in American Fork Canyon. He was ripped from his room in a module tent he had bought his stepfather for Father’s Day, before being dragged off and killed. The bear was eventually found and killed as well, and was confirmed to be the same animal that had entered the campsite the night before and rummaged through food coolers.
The black bear was classified as a Level III animal, which means that it should be euthanized, and wildlife officials did attempt to find the bear after its first appearance but were unsuccessful.
The suits allege that since the bear was unable to be found, campers should have been notified and the campground closed. The family said Friday that they are experienced campers well aware of the risks, but had they known of the bear they never would have stayed in the area just 15 minutes from their home.
“If there wasn’t an attack the night before, we wouldn’t be here arguing it,” said Ives’s biological father Kevan Francis.
The family claims that there were two chances for the state to warn them of the bear danger. The first was when they went through the gate to get to the campground. The second chance was a little more eerie.
“The family passed a Division of Wildlife Resources truck, [that] apparently was the one looking for the bear. They waved at them,”
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/260604/
That would come out of your pocket and the pockets of every other taxpayer (provided you're a taxpayer). How would taking somone else's money punish the government bureaucrats responsible?
It’s what bears do. There’s not a lot of habitat for them anymore, especially in Southern California.
They have to eat. I don’t think it went into the tent to get the kid, specifically. I’m sure it was smelling something beside the kid.
The rangers should have known the bear was there. They aren’t that hard to track. You don’t have to see the bear. They make pretty good tracks. I see tracks and I start taking precautions.
At least have a sign in the campground that said there were bears possible and to take the appropriate measures like the most important one...don’t sleep with your food or anywhere near it.
*Gee whiz, is this not an act of nature? Are bears on the government payroll?*
You're kidding, right? We camp all the time and it comes with bears, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes and people we don't know in other tents. Why am I as a taxpayer responsible because you choose to accept that risk?
Hey, at my age, my idea of camping is a hotel without room service or waitress service at the heated pool.
Are you saying you don’t think we should be allowed to sue the government because the fees, court costs, and any damages awarded would be paid from our tax dollars? Think of all the things the government runs and be sure you really want that. Example: military couldn’t sue military doctors because tax payers would foot the bill. etc. etc. etc. Actually, they probably can’t successfully sue military doctors because of the leverage the military would have, but you get my point.
Feed the bears PETA treats so they won’t be hungry...
Actually, I was being sarcastic.
If they don't allow us to take guns into the parks to protect ourselves, I say they should be sued if there is a bear problem and they fail to control it.
I don't think killing every bear is a solution though. They should be allowed to kill enviro wienies that tra-lala through the forest unarmed because they don't believe in guns and figure they can talk nice to bears to make them go away.
1. If you intend to commune with nature by backpacking across the wilderness of the Western US, Canada, and Alaska, make sure you're armed with a rifle or handgun -- preferably equal or greater than .40 caliber for the rifle, or .44 in the case of the pistol. Don't pack it; shoulder it.
2. Don't sleep on a bear run. If you don't know what a bear run is, ask a ranger or the local sheriff for a description.
3. Don't believe any advice about running downhill away from a pursuing bear. Bears can run in circles up and down a 45-degree angle slope like an Olympic champion, and do it all afternoon. They can also climb trees better than the best human tree-climber can -- outside of a teenager from Guam who can shoot up a tree for a coconut in three seconds. There are no bears in Guam, by the way, so this example is all academic.
4. Playing 'dead' doesn't fool the bears. Playing 'giant porcupine' works lots better, but the suit is a real hassle to hump through the woods.
5. 'Gentle' black bears aren't. All bears, regardless of maturity or type, are equally dangerous. This goes double for badgers, which are just little bears with a hostile 'short guy' attitude problem.
6. Never mind the nonsense about sleeping on the ground and hoisting your food above ground in a tree. Better to sleep in the tree and leave your food on the ground far away for the bears.
7. Make an attempt to tell a local authority -- ranger or sheriff -- about your hiking plans so they know where to find your remains if you choose to ignore item #1.
8. Pepper spray will just make a bear angrier -- just like it does to a typical Los Angeles County resident. You'll never get to that damn pepper spray anyway. You *might* get to your rifle.
9. Bears are silent until you're within striking distance. They already smelled and heard you coming a few hundred yards away. A typical bear's eyesight isn't so good, but they're not Mr. Magoo. They have eyesight good enough to swat your head off your shoulders with deliberate aim.
10. Using an Elk or Deer call to attract game during hunting season has a really good chance to attract a bear instead. In kind, salmon fishing in a 'really good spot' is also where the bears fish.
11. Don't wear fragrances as they attract bears, unless it's Brut, which repels bears as effectively as it repels human females.
12. Don't wipe your hands on your pants. Forget the bears, you'll be in trouble with your mom when you get home.
13. Use a bell or whistle to both alert bears and annoy everyone else within two miles of you.
14. Never travel alone. If you're with a group, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun someone else in your group!!!
I agree...it seems so obvious to me, Am I missing something?
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