Personal Injury Law

Charitable Immunity is Unjust

By Ken Margolin

Protecting charitable organizations from liability for the negligence of the organization or its employees, may sound noble, but is in fact, unfair. The immunity doesn't really accomplish its goals, and insures that employees of an organization involved in a personal injury lawsuit, will be sued instead of the organization. Here's the way it works in Massachusetts. By statute, M.G.L. c. 231, §85K, the liability of non-profit, tax-exempt corporations, for personal injury caused by their negligence, is limited to $20,000. The doctrine never made much sense, since even organizations providing noble services, should be responsible for their actions when they harm others. Now that many "charitable" organizations are economic behemoths, such as major universities and hospitals, with CEOs earning seven figure incomes, the doctrine serves only to harm legitimate plaintiffs and to provide a windfall for the insurance industry. Virtually all viable non-profit organizations carry liability insurance. There is no logical reason why that insurance can't cover the organization as well as its officials and employees, thus protecting the charitable corporation and victims of its corporate negligence.

Full post as published by Boston Personal Injury Lawyer on September 19, 2007 (boomark / email).