Florida Parents Sue Boy Scouts Over Hiking Death of Their Son

Filed under: In The News

"Be prepared."

Grieving parents in southwest Florida find the Boy Scouts' motto ironic, as they sue leaders of the organization for the death of their son.

ABC News reports Michael Sclawy-Adelman, 17, was overcome with heat stroke and died during a 20-mile hike in the Big Cypress National Reserve near the Florida Everglades in May 2009.

"They're supposed to be trained to recognize signs and symptoms," his mother, Judith Sclawy-Adelman, tells the network.

The lawsuit names specific Scout leaders and the local church in South Florida that sponsors the troop. It claims the Boy Scouts violated one of its own key virtues: trustworthiness.

"It just boiled down to us trusting in the Boy Scouts," the victim's father, Howard Adelman, tells ABC News.

Scout leaders tell the network that boys in the program collectively spend millions of hours in outdoor activities every year without serious incident.

However, the parents' attorney, Mark Sylvester, tells ABC News that's not entirely true. He claims some six Scouts have died since the 1990s during outdoor activities. They allegedly suffered heat stroke, drowned or were struck by lightning.

"This is not a condemnation of the Boy Scouts," Sylvester tells the network. "They are a very worthwhile organization. But, at the same time, they have flaws. Children are dying. Children are being severely injured. And things need to change. It needs to stop. People need to know about it."

Scout leaders insist they don't dodge responsibility.


! "We all share responsibility to make things as safe as possible," Kathy Burns, an assistant Scoutmaster in Ohio and the mother of two Eagle Scouts, tells ABC News.

She and three other leaders were chosen by national Boy Scouts of America officials to speak to the press on behalf of the organization.

"Boy Scouts work jointly with the parents who are sending their scouts on these outings and know their scouts the best," she adds.

Judith Sclawy-Adelman and Howard Adelman tell ABC News their son, on the verge of becoming an Eagle Scout, was physically fit when he entered the Everglades.

The Miami Herald reported in July that Michael was 5-feet-6-inches tall and weighed 210 pounds and could have been considered obese according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards.

However, no autopsy was performed on him because of the family's religious objections, and no official cause of death was ever registered.

What is known is that the temperature in the swamp was into triple digits that day. By the 15th mile, ABC reports, the boys were showing signs of fatigue.

"Mike began to seem dizzy; we had him sit down to rest and drink water," Scoutmaster Howard K. Crompton later wrote in a police report. "After about 20 minutes, Mike got worse. He seemed to be choking. I turned him on his side, he vomited. I cleared his mouth. He stopped breathing."

Crompton called 911. He had been performing CPR on Michael for 45 minutes by the time the rescue helicopter reached them. The boy was airlifted out, but he was soon pronounced dead.

Judith Sclawy-Adelman tells ABC News the hike should have stopped at the first sign of trouble, and that leaders should not have decided "to press on regardless for another five miles if you're showing signs of heat and disorientation."

Burns tells the network she doesn't want to minimize the tragedy.

"I can't imagine ! what it must be like for parents to lose their son," she tells ABC News. "But what I can tell you is that the Boy Scouts is so proactive in everything they do in regards to safety.

"Everything we do is looking at what could happen, what are the risks involved, how do we prepare? There are circumstances that are beyond our control. But that's where our training kicks in. And that's where we use those skills we learned."

Michael's parents tell the network they learned about their son's death from Collier County Sheriff's deputies. They claim they didn't hear from the Boy Scouts for 24 hours.

The visit from the deputies was the first wave of horror, Judith Sclawy-Adelman tells ABC News.

"When my daughter, my husband came home, they were screaming and collapsing to the ground. That was almost as horrible," she says. "But we never heard from the Scouts that night."

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