Reader comments
U.S. seeks to toss $2 million lawsuit in bear-attack death

Been There | 11:07 a.m. Nov. 18, 2008

I have seen the signs for several years, including well before the attack. Clearly it is Bear Country. And then again, they were not in a campground, but chose to wander off along the road - in a National Forest with wild animals who already live there. Then we have to ask, did they properly store their food and make sure camp was cleaned up before bedtime - like every scout is taught from age 11.

Tragic accident, but a lawsuit is over the top.

crazy | 12:55 p.m. Nov. 18, 2008

Honestly, they should just accept the fact that this was a tragedy, but now they're acting very selfish if they think the government is to blame for their sons' death.

Yes it was sad, but there are risks you take in every place. People die from shark bites (rare, but yes, it happens) and do you think the government is to blame for that as well? There are dangers all over the place, and choosing to camp offsite makes it even LESS of their fault if they had any to begin with.

absolute greed | 1:59 p.m. Nov. 18, 2008

I was parked at the timpanookee trailhead the morning after all this occurred and watched as one police vehicle after another rushed up the canyon. You could not have possibly gotten to where they were camped without passing three bright orange posters warning of bears in the area. I'm outraged at the greed of this family trying to cash in on there own negligence. I had sympathy for there loss but due to there actions I now regret ever feeling sorry for them. I wish they would turn the tables on this family and sue them for having to destroy the bear and make them pay for all costs involved, especially as they drag this out. This family is NOTHING BUT GREEDY and I hope the rot in sorrow.

Comments continue below

Clark | 3:38 p.m. Nov. 18, 2008

Rot in sorrow?
Ok, lawsuit wrong or right. What kind of person is so hateful and nasty as to use words like that? You obviously are a liar when you say you have sympathy for the family because to use disgusting words like you have with Rot in Sorrow, is just very sad and pathetic.
Like I said, lawsuit right or wrong, the hate in your posting is offensive.

Anonymous | 5:31 p.m. Nov. 18, 2008

Poor kid. First grows up with a family that would exploit his death like this, then gets attacked by a bear...

sympathy for this family | 11:23 p.m. Nov. 18, 2008

There is nothing wrong with this family asking for compensation. If you will recall, there was a family camping in this same spot not long before the Ives family arrived. The first family saw the bear and reported it and then left. There should have been extra precautions taken to alert any other campers of the bears presence. Please don't judge this family, you have no idea what they have gone through.

Todd | 1:43 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008

This was a sad and unfortunate event, but the attempt to cash in on it and try to blame anyone else is beyond crazy. I like to see the lawsuits thrown out and both the attorney & family sanctioned for being stupid.

MAYHEM MIKE | 7:26 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008

Dear "sympathy for his family": There is nothing wrong with this family asking for compensation? Are you completely clueless? "Compensation" comes from the TAXPAYERS --- including me! I and others did nothing wrong to this family and should not have to pay (through taxes). Do you get it? They ventured into the wilderness and took their chances.

Ernest T. Bass | 7:56 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008

Nobody is at fault in this case. It was simply a tragedy.
The family would recovery more quickly and a lot sooner if they dropped the blame/hate and attempted to recover their emotions.

MM | 8:21 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008

I'm sorry for the family, obviously they are grieving.
I don't understand how we came to expect to be compensated for every tragic event. In spite of all the duh signs everywhere, people continue to be hurt-does a sign really prevent anything? If you will be camping in a canyon where bears are, do you really need to be warned about individual bears?
Can I sue mosquito abatement because I got this dang mosquito bite?

Tia | 8:47 a.m. Nov. 19, 2008

Extra precautions in the wilderness to warn people of a bear that was spotted? All the signs were not enough to tell people bears exist there?

In a campsite, yes, maybe a warning should have gone up, but there were plenty of signs to let people know of the danger. Once you leave the site, and go in to the woods...signs or not...come on, common sense, people.

@Sympathy | 5:40 p.m. Nov. 19, 2008

The state chased this bear for hours with dogs, clear into the next canyon, before the attack. They also warned everyone in the area of the prior incident, but this family came in after those warnings, into an area with lots of signs warning about bears. The state is not responsible, no more than they are if I hit a deer with my car.

Jim | 11:05 a.m. Nov. 20, 2008

What a sorry state of affairs, a lad is killed, a family in sorrow looks for relief, I'd guess an Attorney took the case on a contingency basis ( if all is normal)... none of us and all of us are responsible for a tragedy such as this. The family for ignoring signage, all of us for not being better prepared for an outing in the wilderness, the bear for being alive and hungry, the Courts for even hearing a case like this.

I am so sorry for the family's loss and this terrible public aftermath but I also cannot condone holding 'me", the public, reponsible for a lack of diligence on the part of the parents of the lad. It'd just a horrible outcome to a entirely unintended but careless act on the part of the parents. I pray that they will ultimatley find a way to come to grips with this truly hurtful experience.

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