Santa Rosa, CA asked in Business Law and Personal Injury for California

Q: My organization, a non-profit and a 501(c)3, has a rule requiring volunteers to have a current tetanus inoculation.

A new volunteer is from a family that doesn't believe in inoculations. Is it worth the risk to allow the volunteer to join us? I believe litigious people will sue regardless of any defense one might make. Is requiring a tetanus inoculation a sufficient defense or won't it matter?

There is also a risk to other volunteers that this person, apparently lacking any inoculations against any diseases, could bring a disease into our midst and spread it. This is a risk we would rather not take but we are concerned about the defensibility of our position on the issue.

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Peter N. Munsing
Peter N. Munsing
Answered

A: If you have a rational reason for the tetanus injection, it's fine. However that would seem to be for the volunteers protection rather than to protect the group, unless your volunteers qualify for workers compensation. Why not check with your insurance to see what they say.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.