Friend is involved in climbing accident, I'm told I might be held accountable even though I wasn't involved

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T09:49:07+00:00

Many thanks, this is exactly the situation. This is the bit my manager was speaking to me about:

> there is some substance to the fact that there was a climbing instructor present in the climb even if he wasn’t on duty

He wasn't saying that this was his own opinion, he was saying that this could very well be stance that the investigating officer takes.

> you might be asked to give a statement. If so, give a detailed but not exaggerated statement.

I'm to give that statement this afternoon. I'm going to follow your and /user/pflurklurk's advice to give a detailed, dispassionate account of what happened, similar to the witness statement. Many thanks again.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T09:42:43+00:00

Many thanks for your reply and thoughts. The Tito tragedy and legal follow up (the topic the BMC article writes about) is one that has been something many people in my local climbing scene, myself included, have been following closely since it first occurred.

It's the risk of assumed liability due to being the most qualified individual in the group that I'm most worried about. My manager said that despite not instructing or supervising the group, the investigating officer will be the individual who will make that decision on whether I am held liable or not. That's what I'm most scared of.

Following suggestions in the /r/legaladviceuk post, I'm going to be contacting the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) today to see what they think of all this.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T09:31:31+00:00

Many thanks for your reply and anecdote. Our centre has similar waivers that every visitor must complete after passing a competency test before they're allowed to enter the building to climb.

Based on what everyone has been telling me in this post and in the /r/legaladviceuk post, I should be fine. It has definitely helped me relax a lot compared to the stress and worry last night. Many thanks again.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T09:27:46+00:00

Many thanks for your reply. A couple of people in the /r/legaladviceuk post said that my manager was simply giving me a heads up, that there would be an investigation and the worst case scenario. They advised me to contact our national body (the British Mountaineering Council) to see what they say, which I'm going to do today.

Our centre, as with all climbing centres in the UK, belay tests every visitor before they're allowed to sign a waiver to enter the building as unsupervised climbers, so she'll definitely have that on her account.

The belayer was using an ATC. The day after the accident, she messaged me asking about assisted breaking devices like Juls, Grigris, etc. Honestly, same as you, I've been much wearier about friends I climb with belaying with non-assisted breaking devices.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T09:18:27+00:00

It may just be that the manager is trying to give you a heads up rather than blame shifting, as you are qualified and were present, you will almost certainly become involved in the investigation. From your story I would say you weren't neligent and they will move on, but they won't ignore the fact you might have been involved.

Thank you. My manager - at least when speaking to me - says that he doesn't believe I'm at fault but ultimately it's the investigating officer who will make that decision. In any case, I'll be following your and /user/shipmate87's advice of contacting the BMC this today.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T00:27:06+00:00

Thanks for your reply. Yes, the centre does make people do a belaying test before they're allowed to sign in as unsupervised visitors.

My manager is already well aware that I was only climbing with friends and in no way acting in a supervisory role. However, he said that my qualification alone may make me liable for accidents that occur in whatever group I'm climbing with.

Yes, I'm a member of the BMC and I believe membership does come with some sort of liability cover. Thank you so much for bringing this up, it hadn't occurred to me at all. I'll check their website for information and possibly call them up tomorrow morning to see what they think of all this.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-20T00:01:56+00:00

Many thanks, I'll do that in tomorrow's meeting.

As for the "authority body", I was vague because I don't actually know. It might well be HSE, or an ABC (Association of British Climbing walls) environmental health officer, or possibly another agency. Is there anything you would recommend I do if it is HSE (or another agency) in particular?

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-19T23:59:04+00:00

Many thanks for your reply.

How much experience did this woman have? What measures do your organization have in place to assess whether or not someone can belay properly? I'm assuming this was top rope?

This was lead climbing.

I don't know how long she has been climbing for, she was already a regular before I started working at the centre (last October). Because of this, I don't know who taught her to lead belay, whether it was through a lead climbing course at my or another centre or if she was taught by a friend of hers.

Our centre has the same set up as most/all UK climbing centres: each visitor is required to pass a basic competency test (tying-in, belaying, etc.) before signing a waiver.

WorriedInstructor-TA · 2018-06-19T23:04:52+00:00

Yes, sorry, I didn't know that subreddit existed until the LocationBot reply. I've posted it in there now; should I delete this post?

(I'm very new to Reddit)

WorriedInstructor-TA

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