desertdog71
Girthy Member
Damn lawyers
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Teaching some youngsters now and am concerned about my liability should one of them hurt / kill themselves after they're on their own.
In general, not so much in this area. It's not a car accident. The lawyers who handle these kinds of cases are fewer and further between than the usual bunch of TV-advertisers and at least need to know something about flying to avoid some hefty start-up costs. There are also states with "instructor malpractice" doctrines that limit the types of cases than can be made against instructors (not just flight instructors, although there's a pretty recent case in Minnesota involving Cirrus that applied the doctrine to throw out the case, at least where the pilot wasn't a student pilot).Honestly, in this litigious society with everyone trying to make a buck and blood hound lawyers just looking for the next income stream,
I instruct because I enjoy it and it enhances my life, I take some reasonable measures to help protect myself, and I live my life without fear. [.quote] You and me both. That was a great post!
I know a CFI here that formed an LLC to instruct ... it may or may not be a benefit for you to seek an LLC but as always, seek legal counsel.
Generally, that does zero to protect a CFI against liability for an accident.
One of the former co-owners of the last plane I was a part of was retired USAir (and a complete asshat). He owned a 172 that he leased back to the local flight school. Student and instructor went up and flew it into a mountain in IMC. Investigation showed the aircraft was in operational shape and had no bearing on the accident. Family of the dead CFI and the badly injured student both sued him. They ended up settling for less than the insurance cap, but the owner was still sweating bullets for several years during the process. This is the reason I would never consider a leaseback.
When I was at DCA now Aerosim there was a incident where a 172-RG's gear didn't come down. The CFI did everything in his power to get the gear down including opening the door and hanging out to try and yank it down(crazy I know). He never got it down and they had to do a belly up landing. They survived and he did an amazing job. The students parents had the nerve to sue the CFI(I can understand the school but the CFI?). It turned out to be a faulty hydraulic line and the lawsuit was thrown out very quickly. People are sue happy way too many times in this country. If you don't think your student is ready, don't send them.
Yeah but you can get that nifty Master CFI plaque.Last I checked the coverage rates are the same for the straight Avemco vs the NAFI-Avemco policy, but as you said the coverage is much better with NAFI... it's the only reason I have a NAFI membership (which is an otherwise useless organization in my opinion).
Edit: Here are the rate sheets
http://www.avemco.com/NAFI/Rates.aspx
https://www.avemco.com/CFINonOwned/Rates.aspx
One can't get rid of someone trying to sue you so, as you say, having insunaces is important to help protect against completely frivolous suits.It's crazy if you think about it, the liability you open yourself up to while instructing and also down the road 5, 10, 20 years later.