Q: are members of a small church liable for accidents if the church can’t afford liability insurance?
We only have a membership of around 10 people and I’m concerned if someone got hurt and sued the church it would come back to the members.
A:
Ordinarily in any virtually any jurisdiction as a general matter, members should not be liable unless they could be shown to have a connection to the ownership or management of the church. They're just members, not directors or property owners. Unfortunately, you have no control over what any given plaintiff would do. So the short answer is that they would have a tough case, but there's no stopping them from trying. Try to look into insurance. Maybe one of the tax attorneys here could give direction as to how the expense could be handled in light of your institution's charitable work. Maybe look into whether an insurance company could offer a discount as a goodwill gesture for the work you do to help the community. Good luck
Tim Akpinar
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.
