Rescue Issues

[Beck]

mtnfreak makes a good point about the distinction between the ski area charging for a rescue versus a county led SAR effort. rarely does a sheriff's department charge for SAR efforts for the reasons the Deschutes county sheriff's representative said in the news brief... they don't want to discourage people for calling for help.

[Doug]

Isn't there a law in Oregon that basically says if a law is broken, and there is a search & rescue effected, the subject can be held liable for costs? Seems to me it came into being 4 or 5 years ago.

[iain]

there was the revised statute in 1995 that says charges can be made in cases of negligence, not sure about law-breaking. Here's the details, kind of interesting if you are a climber:

 

401.590 Reimbursement of public body for search and rescue by benefited persons; amount; exceptions. (1) A public body may collect an amount specified in this section as reimbursement for the cost of search and rescue activities when the public body conducts search and rescue activities for the benefit of hikers, climbers, hunters and other users of wilderness areas or unpopulated forested or mountainous recreational areas in this state.

 

 

(2) The public body may collect moneys as authorized by this section from each person for whose benefit search and rescue activities are conducted. The public body may not collect more than $500 from an individual under this section and may not collect more than the actual cost of the search and rescue activities from all of the individuals for whose benefit the activities are conducted.

 

 

(3) A public body may obtain reimbursement under this section only when:

 

 

(a) Reasonable care was not exercised by the individuals for whose benefit the search and rescue activities are conducted; or

 

 

(b) Applicable laws were violated by such individuals.

 

 

(4) Any individual who is charged a fee for reimbursement under this section may appeal the charge or the amount of the fee to the public body that charged the fee.

 

 

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, evidence of reasonable care includes:

 

 

(a) The individuals possessed experience and used equipment that was appropriate for the known conditions of weather and terrain.

 

 

(b) The individuals used or attempted to use locating devices or cellular telephones when appropriate.

 

 

© The individuals notified responsible persons or organizations of the expected time of departure and the expected time of return and the planned location or route of activity.

 

 

(d) The individuals had maps and orienteering equipment and used trails or other routes that were appropriate for the conditions.

 

 

(6) As used in this section, "public body" means any unit of state or local government that conducts or has authority to conduct search and rescue activities. [1995 c.570 §1]

 

 

Note: 401.590 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 401 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.

 

 

401.600 [1975 c.624 §4; repealed by 1983 c.586 §49]

 

 

(Equipment and Signaling Devices)

 

 

401.605 Definitions for ORS 401.605 to 401.635. As used in ORS 401.605 to 401.635:

 

 

(1) "Electronic signaling device" includes, but is not limited to, a system consisting of an instrument which emits a radio signal, designed to be carried on the person, an instrument for locating the source of such signal, designed to be utilized by searchers and such instruments as may be employed for testing and maintaining the same.

 

 

(2) "Inherent risks of wilderness travel and mountain climbing" includes, but is not limited to, those dangers or conditions, the risk of which is an integral part of these activities, such as becoming lost, incapacitated or for some other reason being unable to return safely without outside assistance. "Inherent risks" include the activities associated with search and rescue, due to the unpredictable circumstances under which search and rescue operations are conducted.

 

 

(3) "Wilderness travel" includes, but is not limited to, travel in areas not served by roads suitable for ordinary motor vehicles, whether or not such areas have been officially designated as wilderness areas. [1987 c.915 §1; 1993 c.18 §95]

 

 

Note: 401.605 to 401.635 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 401 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.

 

 

401.610 [1975 c.624 §5; repealed by 1983 c.586 §49]

 

 

401.615 Assumption of risk of wilderness travel or mountain climbing; use and effect of signal devices. (1) In accordance with ORS 18.470 and notwithstanding ORS 18.475 (2), an individual who engages in wilderness travel or mountain climbing accepts and assumes the inherent risks of wilderness travel or mountain climbing.

 

 

(2) The Legislative Assembly recognizes that the use of electronic signaling devices can aid in locating wilderness travelers or mountain climbers who require search and rescue, but that the use of such devices may be required in unpredictable circumstances which may not result in successful function of such devices. [1987 c.915 §2]

 

 

Note: See note under 401.605.

 

 

401.620 [1975 c.624 §6; renumbered 401.335]

 

 

401.625 Required equipment when guiding children above timberline. A person who guides for compensation an organized group that includes children under 18 years of age on any mountain above the timberline must carry an altimeter, a contour map of the area and a compass. [1987 c.915 §4]

 

 

Note: See note under 401.605.

 

 

401.627 Exemption from liability for electronic signaling device; exceptions. No person may maintain an action against the manufacturer, distributor or supplier of an electronic signaling device for any loss or damage incurred during wilderness travel or mountain climbing, based on a claim that such a device failed to function successfully unless the person shows that the failure resulted from willful or wanton misconduct of the defendant or from the defendant’s distributing or supplying such a device having actual knowledge that it fails to meet the specifications referred to in ORS 401.635. [1987 c.915 §3]

 

 

Note: See note under 401.605.

 

 

401.630 [1975 c.624 §7; renumbered 401.125]

 

 

401.635 Electronic signaling devices; rulemaking authority of state police; advisory committee. The Department of State Police by rule shall adopt specifications and distribution procedures applicable to electronic signaling devices described in ORS 401.605 to 401.635. The department may appoint an advisory committee to advise it on the specifications and procedures. [1987 c.915 §5; 1993 c.18 §96]

[Alpine_Tom]

A big issue is: who calls, and who pays? If I'm out on Johannesburg, and end up overnighting unexpectedly, and my partner's girlfriend panics and calls SAR, and a helicopter meets me at the Cascade River road (for example) should I pay because she called? Or should she pay?

If she is on the hook, she'd have to think long and hard about calling, especially since the call would essentially be signing a blank check. Which gets us back to the objections mentioned above.

Or, if I'm, say, on the summit of Glacier Peak, and get socked in, and call home to say I'm okay, but the cell phone transmission is garbled and SAR comes out, who pays? Me? The cell phone company? (hah!)

Or, what if it's a couple of kids who wander off from a boy scout hike? Does the scout troop pay? The parents? Or do we only make macho smelly climbers pay for SAR?

 

I was in a bicycle accident years ago, about half a mile from Harborview, which resulted in my losing consciousness. It transpired that Medic One showed up to make sure I was okay, then called a private ambulence co. to take me to Harborview. The charge from the ambulence co. was something like $350 for that four minute drive.

[Rodchester]

If you don't call in a rsscue and you don't accpet the rescuer's help, then you don't have to pay.

[cj001f]

If you don't call in a rsscue and you don't accpet the rescuer's help, then you don't have to pay.

That definitely applies to medical aid. Does it to rescues?