Student Successfully Appeals Lawsuit Against Synagogue for Injuries Sustained During Study Abroad Program

Key point 10-11. A church may be legally responsible on the basis of negligent supervision for injuries resulting from a failure to exercise adequate supervision of its programs and activities.

A New York court declined to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a 19-year-old student against her synagogue seeking compensation for injuries she suffered while on a study abroad program in Israel sponsored by the synagogue. A 19-year-old female member of a Jewish synagogue (the "plaintiff") was a participant in her synagogue's Nativ Program, in which first-year, college-level students live, study, and perform volunteer work in Israel for nine or ten months. The program provided the plaintiff with medical insurance and an insurance card. The plaintiff was also told that program staff would contact doctors, set up appointments, and attend them with her, should the need arise.

In September 2007, while studying ...