Open Statement - Case Study Example

Open ment The prosecution counsel and the family of the late P.J. Gilbertson, I would like to first express my profound sorrow because of the death of P.J. Gilbertson. This is very sad especially to his family to whom he is loved and highly regarded. However, this is a case of personal negligence and mistakes on the part of the deceased rather than the Everest Experience Company. J.B. Gilbertson was a resilient person. He never wanted to back off on anything once he started it. This is information that would be provided by a number of people including his beloved wife. His wife, Merritt Gilbertson, would tell you that J.B. was hardworking and ambitious. He liked to overcome challenges despite what they meant for his physical health. Summiting Mt. Everest was a challenge Gilbertson wanted to overcome despite the obvious health risks involved. He had experienced these risks earlier on when he climbed Mt. McKinley. He was forced to take a whole week off from work to recover. Yet this did not deter him from attempting to summit Mt. Everest, which was at a higher altitude than Mt. McKinley and one, which presented greater health risks. His desire to reach the top was too great to consider the life threatening risks that could result in trying out such a venture. Gilbertson’s family doctor, Dr. Hendrich, will also tell you that P.J. Gilbertson had little regard for his own health. He insisted on accomplishing what he wanted to despite his body giving him warning signs that it could not take it anymore. He liked to push himself to the limit and this happened in the Mt. Everest case. P.J. pushed himself so hard to his own death. You would also learn from the family doctor that Gilbertson was not fit for the exercise from the medical point of view. Some few days before embarking on the grueling exercise, Gilbertson, according to Dr. Hendrich, suffered a sinus infection. This infection required him to stay at home and rest in addition to taking medication. He refused to stay at home arguing that there was a lot of work to be done and he could not afford to stay at home. Alternatively, the doctor suggested that Gilbertson should cancel the trip. The deceased said that he could hear none of that and it was a lifetime chance for him to be on top of the world. He said would not miss it for anything in the world. This is a man whose health was at risk, yet he insisted on taking on a dangerous trip that required maximum fitness on the part of the climber. You will also hear from the family doctor that the deceased never liked to visit doctors. He shunned him on many occasions making effort only when the young ones got sick. This put the family doctor in the dark in terms of knowing the true health status of his client to offer any conclusive advice on the issue of engaging in the exercise of climbing Mt. Everest, assuming the advice would have been followed. Although he requested a physical examination from the family doctor, this was not enough to warrant a safe climbing expedition. P.J. Gilbertson’s stubbornness can also be seen at the time of the climbing exercise. His best friend Barlett Baker would tell you that he tried countless times to dissuade him from continuing with climbing when he realized that it was taking a toll on him but to no avail. Baker would inform you that prior to beginning the final push to the summit on 5th may 2000; he realized that Gilbertson was quite sick. Being his friend, he noticed a big change in Gilbertson’s health and although he did not say it, Gilbertson was also having doubts whether he would make it to the top of the mountain. However, Gilbertson thought of the huge sum of money he had spent for the expedition and decided against backing off. Here is a man who had little regard for his own life because of achieving glory. This man valued money more than he valued his health. He felt that he had to get the value of his money by climbing up to the top despite the obvious signs that his body would not endure the exercise. Baker would also inform you that after he had reached the summit, Holman asked him about the whereabouts P.J. After learning that he had been left behind, Holman instructed Baker to go back and look for him. Baker found Gilbertson trying to make it up. Again, he tried to dissuade him from continuing with the journey but Gilbertson refused and insisted on climbing up to the top. Baker knew it was futile to convince Gilbertson to back off so he let him continue on his way up. By this time, it was already past 1.00 in the afternoon and it was becoming increasingly dangerous to be climbing up the mountain because of the inability to make it back to camp IV before it is too late. The prosecution counsel has accused Roger Holman of failing to provide a fail-safe for his clients. In addition, Holman has been accused of failing to turn Gilbertson back when it was apparent that he was not in good health to make it to the summit. This court should be informed that mountain climbing comes with various health effects that are felt by everyone taking part in the exercise, including the seasoned climbers such as Roger Holman himself and the Sherpa guides. One of the Sherpa guides, Jan Darma Sherpa, would tell you that despite having climbed mountains all his life, he felt so terrible the first time he made it to the summit. He would inform you how he felt a severe headache and dizziness on top of the mountain. Feeling such discomforts is part of the exercise and such signs could not have been enough to make Holman turn back Gilbertson. In addition, Holman was not always in charge of his clients. He had to lead the way so that others follow. He could not be able to take care of Gilbertson and at the same time lead the way for others. It was therefore up to Gilbertson to express concern about his health status or better still, withdraw from the exercise. However, despite vomiting blood, which went unnoticed by Holman who was busy taking care of other business, Gilbertson insisted on going on. This proved to be fatal because, although he made it up to the top, he failed to survive. Holman has also been accused of neglecting his clients, and particularly Gilbertson. However, this is not true. During the climbing exercise, Holman directed Jan Darma Sherpa to stay with Gilbertson to help him if he needed help because he was slower than other climbers were. This shows Holman cared for his clients. In addition, he had Bobbie Whittaker, an experienced mountain guide at the rear to help those who got in trouble. When Gilbertson insisted on making it to the top, Holman put his own life in danger and waited for him at the summit despite it being so dangerous to be at the summit for long. When Holman found Gilbertson beyond the Hillary Step, he tried to help him down by tying Gilbertson in his climbing harness. However, the storm broke out and this exposed them. There was little Holman could have done to help Gilbertson survive the assault of the storm because Holman was half death himself. The Everest contract provides clearly in clause number 6 that a client must accept all the risks, known and unknown that might occur during the expedition, including death. By signing the contract, Gilbertson agreed to the terms and conditions stated in the contract by Everest Experience Company including the possibility of death. This implies that Gilbertson undertook the exercise of going up the mountain with the full knowledge of the possible consequences of his actions, which included death. By providing such a clause in the contract, Everest Experience excluded itself from any liability incurred due to injury or death to any of its clients. Being a grown up, with the legal capacity to sign contracts, Gilbertson voluntarily signed the contract, with the full knowledge that his safety was largely his own responsibility. The company’s work was merely to provide guidance and help only where possible. This means that Gilbertson was largely responsible for his own death because the risks involved in the exercise had clearly been spelled. Lastly, Roger Holman has been accused of handling the exercise in a haphazard manner by failing to get the required equipment to the site in time. It is claimed that Holman hired an old truck that failed to take the required gear for shipment in time for the mountaineering exercise. Some of the important equipment that are claimed to have failed to reach the base camp on time for exercise include computer hardware, radios, and iridium cells. This, it is claimed, disabled communication that could have helped the group to know the whether conditions. This, it is argued, could have warned of the impending storm that claimed the life P.J. Gilbertson. This is not entirely true. Meteorologist Andi Denman would tell you that the weather conditions on top of the mountain experience constant fluctuations. Despite there being constant weather updates, some of the conditions such as temperatures undergo drastic changes in a short time. This means that in some cases, the climbers might not have enough time to get back to the base camp before bad weather conditions set in. In addition, in this case, it was less about the storm and more about the deteriorated health condition of P.J. Gilbertson that claimed his life. Basing on the evidence presented before this court, P.J. Gilbertson knew very well the implications of carrying out this exercise. In addition, he overlooked all the advice provided to him by his friend Barlett Baker, and his family doctor, Dr. Hendrich. He also refused to listen to the warning signs of his body. He refused to seek advice or back off when it was evident that he could not make it. This makes him solely responsible for his death and therefore Everest Experience Company is not guilty of the death of P.J. Gilbertson. I rest my case. Works Cited O’Connor, C. Rodney and Thomas P.C. Gilbertson v. Everest Experience: National Case 2000- 2001. West Des Moines: American Trial Association. Print Read More