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The Dangers of Adventure Travel and being a Boomer

By Steve Lombardi

On Wednesday September 23^rd 2009, Philip Dorff and some friends were fishing on the Big Thompson River. Mr. Dorff was fishing separately from his three friends who had last seen him about 4:30 p.m., when he failed to return to the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch by 9 p.m. they began to worry and contacted authorities. A search team later found Mr. Dorff in the river apparently drowned, they said that they did not know if he fell or was swept away by the water. He death was reported an accident by the newspaper. Mr. Dorff was a retired attorney who worked for the Law Offices of Hopkins and Hubner.

On Wednesday September 23^rd 2009, Philip Dorff and some friends were fishing on the Big Thompson River. Mr. Dorff was fishing separately from his three friends who had last seen him about 4:30 p.m.. When he failed to return to the Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch by 9 p.m. they began to worry and contacted authorities. A search team later found Mr. Dorff in the river apparently drowned, they said that they did not know if he fell or was swept away by the water. He death was reported an accident by the newspaper. Mr. Dorff was a retired attorney who worked for the Law Offices of Hopkins and Hubner.

Phil was a fine attorney who lived his professional life honestly. The law firm of Hopikins & Huebner is a firm I'm very familiar with, as we are colleagues in central Iowa. Philip H. Dorff, who I knew was a good lawyer. We will miss him. This is the second person that I know of this year who has died while fishing off a bank. I always wonder about a heart attack because fishing doesn't seem all that dangerous nor does it expose the one fishing to extreme danger. Maybe my assumption is incorrect. Hopefully there will be an autopsy.

What I've always found interesting about this firm that does both Plaintiff and Defense work, is how balanced they are in terms of seeing the bigger picture. But I can't imagine retiring and then drowning while enjoying something as "safe" as fishing is thought to be. Vacation travel, especially adventure travel, which I don't consider this to be, can be dangerous and deadly.

In other news, Clifton Maloney, a wealthy investment banker and the husband of U.S. Representative (NY) Carolyn Maloney climbed the summit of the 16th highest peak in the world, Cho Oyu (26,906') in Nepal, was resting in camp and suddenly died. He was 71 years of age. The high camp is at 23,000 feet and anyone who's climbed knows that's a lot of elevation to climb for a man of his age. It's tough enough for younger men and women and gets tougher with age. Oxygen pressure is less and makes breathing extremely difficult. the physical demands can be the least of your challenges. HAPE can be a bigger challenge. HACE is another complication that can lead to death.

http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/AOL News/lawmakers-husband-dies-in-himalayas/42200588001

What can you learn from these two cases? Thinking ahead one has to plan on getting home either dead or alive. I carry an insurance policy referred to as Get The Body Home with Return Assured or Assist America, Inc. It's insurance that pays and they deal with all logistics to get your body home, if something happens to you while traveling in another country. Consider the logistics of getting a dead body home from Nepal. Then consider it's your loved ones who will need to talk to Nepalese authorities along with those in Thailand, England and then the U.S. The logistical challenge is enormous. Each country presents incredibly different challenges than if someone dies here at home while on vacation in another state.

I wish their widows and families well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on September 28, 2009 (boomark / email).