Date post: | 26-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | tiffany-booker |
View: | 218 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Legal Aspects of Crisis Management
Workshop for Azusa Pacific University’s Emergency Management Team
December 15, 2004
Disaster Planning/Crisis Management/Emergency
Operations
Terms that indicate a process or plan by which an
organization can respond in a crisis situation
Crisis Events
• Natural accidents– Fires, earthquake, flood, wind
• Normal accidents– Physical crisis, economic crisis,
personal crisis
• Abnormal accidents– Criminal, information, reputation
Emergency Management Team
• Prepare the university for crisis related events
• Mitigate when possible the occurrence of such events
• When possible decrease the affects of such events
Emergency Management Team - Goals
• Life safety
• Secure APU’s critical infrastructure
& facilities
• Resume the educational activities
of the university
Elements of Emergency Management
• Risk assessment• Emergency operations plan• Incident command system• Response• Recovery• Mitigation
Emergency Management Issues
• Life safety• Protection of property• Insurance & ability to recover• Exposure to civil & criminal liabilities• Compliance with statutory and
regulatory rules• Short and long term viability in market• Environmental• Social• Personnel
Laws & California Governmental Agencies
• Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
• California Office of Emergency Services– Title 19– Health & Safety Code– Labor Codes
Laws & APU
• Cal/OSHA – Title 8 – Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIP)– Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
• Reporting a fire• Emergency evacuation• Procedures for employees who remain to operate
equipment• Procedures for accounting for all employees• Procedures for employees performing rescue or
medical duties• Training
Laws & APU
City of AzusaDevelopment Code: 3.10.030.E
High occupancy and sensitive facilities shall have an emergency response plan with contingencies for all appropriate hazards submitted with every building permit request
Laws & APU
Azusa Pacific University Specific Plan
Will require APU to have an integrated campus plan to meet the requirements of the Development Code
Possible Laws & APU
• 9/11 Commission– Recommends the adoption by
Homeland Security the use of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 as the national preparedness standard
– NFPA 1600 has been adopted by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as the National Preparedness Standard
NFPA 1600
• Standardized disaster/emergency planning and business continuity
• Mitigation oriented• Procedures for disaster and recovery• ICS• Organization must develop procedures to
carry out the plan• Must develop communication plan• Training & Education
Laws & APU
• Duty & Liability – Does a given set of circumstances create legal responsibility for harm and should it attach to whom and why
Civil Law – Relevant Factors
• Foreseeability of harm• Nature of the risk• Closeness of the connection
between the college’s act or omission, and the injury
• Moral blame and responsibility
Civil Law – Relevant Factors
• Social policy of preventing harm• Burden on the university and the
larger community if duty is recognized
• Availability of insurance
“foreseeability of harm”
Duty is…only an expression of the sum total of those considerations of policy which lead the law to say that the plaintiff is entitled to protection…
As society changes…so our relations to one another change, and the law must adjust accordingly…
Estates of Morgan, supra, 673 N.E. 2d at 1322
Can the university foresee crisis occurring?
If so, does the university have a duty to protect faculty, staff, students
and visitors?
“Assumption of Duty”
Once an actor, the university, assumes a duty not imposed by law, it is then bound to carry out the duty with reasonable care and is liable if it does not.
Examples
• 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC)– January 2004, 175 law suits were
allowed to go to trial– 1984 one of the agencies who owned
the WTC warned that the site was vulnerable and a likely terrorist target
– The attacks were foreseeable since the agency created a committee and asked for a report
Examples
9/11 - Workers• 1,200 police officers, firefighters,
sanitation and demolition workers• They suffered injuries by breathing air
fouled by toxins and contaminants• Were not supplied proper respiratory
masks and protective equipment• Violated labor laws requiring that safety
gear be provided
Examples
9/11 – Those on the Ground• Boeing – Cockpit doors were not
substantial• Airlines – Duty to screen passengers• WTC – Had duty to design, construct,
repair and maintain the Twin Towers– Withstand spread of fire– Effective fire safety and evacuation
procedures.
Crisis Litigation
When an incident occurs the fundamental questions will be asked, who, what, when, where and why. By individuals, agencies, insurance companies, injured workers and third parties.
As in WTC personal liability lawsuits could ensue.
Summary
• Cal/OSHA• Azusa Development Code• APU Specific Plan• NFPA 1600• Worker’s Comp• FERPA• Duty
“People that behave best during a crisis are not those with the best plan but those
that are value-driven…. While tactical notions are very important in dealing
with a crisis, values provide a kind of enduring logic that
lends coherence to an organizations actions.”John Scanlon, Public Relations Executive