Lawsuit concerns halt East Kootenay search and rescue teams

Threesearch and rescue teams in B.C.'s East Kootenay region suspended service over the weekend after a lawsuit linked to the death of a Quebec woman raised concerns about liability and insurance.

According to officials with theProvincial Emergency Program, the volunteer search and rescue teams in Kimberley, Fernie and Golden all suspended service. Organizers indicatedthe actionwas linked to a lawsuit filed last month by Gilles Blackburn against the Golden and District Search and Rescue Association for the death of his wife Marie-Jose Fortin.

Fortin died of hypothermia about seven days after the couple skied out of bounds while at the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in February. Blackburn was rescued two days later.

Blackburn claims in the lawsuit launched on May 8 that he suffered serious physical and psychological injuries because the Golden andDistrict Search and Rescue Association, as well as the RCMP and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, failed to initiate a ground search whenSOS signals stamped in the snow were reported by a local helicopter company.

Officials with the ProvincialEmergency Programsaid it's the first time anyone can remember a volunteer search and rescue society being sued, and that has triggered a scramble to check insurance policies.

On Monday morning, the search and rescue society in Kimberley voted to restore service after it checked itsinsurance policies. President Peter Reid told CBC News the lawsuit sent an important message.

"The big message is, that there does appear to be a situation in the Canadian legal system that will allow a subject to sue societies for something that happens operationally, so we better have insurance, we better be covered, because if we are not, it can all affect us personally," said Reid.

In Fernie, the society board has resigned, but some individual members said they will still participate in searches if called upon.

In Golden, the society withdrew all of its equipment, including helmets, ropes, and trucks, and said it will be up to individual members to decide whether to take part in a search.

The province will pay for insurance to cover individual searchers, but only about half of the province's 80 search and rescue societies carry third-party liability insurance.Officials insist the public has not been put at risk because of service withdrawals, as neighbouring search and rescue teams are available in emergencies.