Originally posted by CHassan
First off, a toddler should not be around the field un attended. I would not even consider taking my 5 year old with out another adult to supervise while I flew. This is just bad parenting if the father let the toddler wonderabout while he flew.
Now I can not comprehend losing one of my children. If it was truely someone elses fault, you bet I would try to gain as much as I could. Nothing can replace my children. However the best way to hurt most people or companies is thru the wallet.
Now if it was neglect on my part, i.e. leaving a toddler to walk about in a dangerous area, then sorry but there is no one to blame, I do not think the club or AMA should be held completely responsible. The father is as much at fault.
Just because the cup does not say HOT, does not mean the coffee inside is cold!
While *I* agree with you about the bad parenting issue and who was at fault, the civil courts did not. As someone else mentioned, the issue was/is liability and that has already been determined elsewhere. So now the question is HOW MUCH.
As for Flippypilot not getting reimbursed, AMA insurance is SECONDARY. Many years ago I was involved in a mid air while flying combat. The out of control plane hit a car. I paid and did not even bother filing with the AMA because of two reasons. First AMA does require you to file with your homeowners policy before they will take action. The second reason was because *I* worked out a solution with the car owner that was below my homeowners deductible.
In the case of the theft, your comprehensive auto coverage should have covered the loss and in the case of the auto damage the homeowners coverage should have repaired the car. If those coverages were not available to the member, that information (and PROOF) should have been made available to the AMA. However, if the Safety Code (and that INCLUDES the local club rules) was violated, all bets are off.