Mormon Church, Members Not Liable for Girl’s Ankle

Neither the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nor its members can be held liable for injuries suffered by a child who hurt herself on a church-organized outing in Idaho.

The Idaho Supreme Court ruled last week neither the church not its members owed a special duty of care to Heidi Beers before she broke her ankle while jumping off a bridge into the Payette River.

Beers was hurt in 2007 during a church-sponsored campout near Smiths Ferry.

Her parents sued on her behalf, alleging negligence and the civil tort of child abuse.

In addition to rejecting the negligence claim, the justices last Wednesday also ruled the child abuse claim should be rejected because church members on the trip didn’t weren’t under any legal obligation to prevent her injuries.