When is a disaster an unavoidable strike of fate versus a foreseeable misfortune? That question encapsulates the potential risk your school evaluates every time a tragedy like the Sandy Hook shooting or the Ebola outbreak appears on national media. But no one could have foreseen the consequences a tick bite would have on a young private school student returning from a school-hosted trip to China—consequences that would have one school sued for millions of dollars.
In 2007, Cara Munn attended a Hotchkiss School-run summer program in China. While there, she contracted tick-borne encephalitis, which causes a patient’s brain to swell and can cause permanent neurological damage. In the end, Munn's parents had to arrange for transportation out of China for their sick daughter, who was being treated at Beijing United Medical Center.
After Munn was deemed permanently disabled due to the disease, Munn’s parents sued the school, the charges being negligence by failing to:
- warn of insect-transmittable diseases;
- ensure students took precautions against being bitten by ticks and other insects like DEET insect repellant or long-sleeved shirts and pants;
- include medical personnel on the trip; and
- making advance arrangements to get sick or injured students back to the United States for treatment.
Hotchkiss lawyers argued that the disease was too rare for the school to have foreseen it as a possible danger. Indeed, Hotchkiss’s official statement on the lawsuit reads:
As part of our due diligence prior to this 2007 trip to China, we thoroughly checked the CDC [Center for Disease Control] website for medical advice and asked parents to do the same. There was never any indication that there was a potential risk of a disabling tick bite. In fact, this is the only recorded case of this particular disease afflicting a traveler in China.
Hotchkiss lawyers concluded that the school should not be held liable for the damages Munn suffered as a result of the unforeseeable tick bite. After an eight-day trial and an eight-hour deliberation, the jury disagreed with Hotchkiss and delivered a guilty verdict of negligence on Hotchkiss’s part towards Munn’s safety and well-being during the school trip. The judge awarded Munn $41.7 million for the injuries she suffered. The school is currently appealing the decision.
There are several ways in which this lawsuit could have been prevented.
- Analyze potential dangers during field trips and study abroad programs with full risk management reviews. Even dangers which have never happened to you or another school (i.e., group hit by avalanche during a ski trip, kidnapping, etc.) should be considered and contingencies made for just such scenarios.
- Provide Student Accident and Sickness insurance for school trip participants. If the parents hadn't had to pay for certain medical expenses out of pocket, they may not have needed to sue the school to recoup their expenditures. Such insurance would also facilitate better and faster care for injured or sick students.
- Train chaperones in first aid and safety awareness. If chaperones had insisted on checking students for possible ticks after a hike, Munn may have avoided contracting the disease altogether. (Tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease usually require at least 24 hours of attachment to the host for the sickness to transfer.)
By its very nature, the unpredictable is hard to plan for. What can be taken from this tragedy is a reminder to have your school’s lawyer review all permission documents and policies for school trips. Preparing for such extreme cases ahead of time can mitigate damage down the road, and schools can and do successfully defend against suits of negligence. One study found that nearly two-thirds of schools successfully defend in such cases, while plaintiffs “win conclusively” less than one-tenth of the time.
Even so, it’s best to be prepared for all eventualities. Lawyer-reviewed documents and policies that clearly outline the school’s responsibilities and actions in various scenarios will serve your school well. In the end, it’s not a matter of if disaster will strike, but when.
If your school hosts international field trips or study abroad programs, you can protect them—and your school—with ISM’s Foreign Property and Casualty coverage. This plan has been designed to protect your scholars abroad from the unimaginable. Packages can be tailored to your schools unique requirements. Contact us for more information.
Additional ISM resources:
ISM Monthly Update for Risk Managers Vol. 2 No. 1 Triaging Risk
ISM Monthly Update for Risk Managers Vol. 4 No. 5 Q&A With ISM's Risk Manager: D&O Coverage When Family Sues
ISM Monthly Update for Risk Managers Vol. 4 No. 2 Managing Risk in Your Summer Program
ISM Monthly Update for Risk Managers Vol. 3 No. 6 Trip and Volunteer Protocols
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 38 No. 4 Your School's Summer Program Risk and Risk Management
I&P Vol. 35 No. 12 Does Your Crisis Plan Really Protect Your Students (And School)?
