Bradley M. Cosgrove, partner at Clifford Law Offices, spoke with editors at Climbing Magazine regarding the record $50 million verdict he obtained for an eight-year-old boy who was raped at a summer climbing camp.
Cosgrove and partner Charles R. Haskins received the verdict following a two-week trial in Cook County Circuit Court.
Cosgrove told Climbing Magazine, “For any gyms who don’t currently have a bathroom supervision policy for minors, this $50 million verdict serves as an alarm bell to form one immediately.” In general, Cosgrove said that climbing gyms should be wary of trying to “bring on additional revenue” with youth programs without establishing proper procedures. He recommends that gyms interested in expanding into summer camps hire a professional consultant to help them design their policies, hire staff with experience running a camp, and collect a detailed background on all campers. He also advised gyms to ensure they have a large amount of legal insurance to cover any potential risk. “Don’t wing it,” he warned.
The article goes on to say, “Throughout the trial, Cosgrove emphasized that the gym was negligent in allowing the children to be alone for nearly an hour unsupervised. In a post-verdict video released on July 17 on YouTube, the attorney argued that First Ascent knew how to run a gym but was unprepared to run a summer camp. “The kids went freely in and out of the bathroom without any type of supervision or any type of safety system,” he said, citing surveillance footage of the gym during camp. “Established camps have rules and procedures for how children are allowed to use the bathroom and what supervision is allowed.”
“One of the goals the family had, in this case, wasn’t to get revenge but to make sure this never happens again to anyone in the future.”
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