Think again - Who are you going to call? Court rules that Coast Guard has no duty to rescue

The Coast Guard responded to 20,510 search and rescue cases and saved over 3,800 lives, according to the Coast Guard Snapshot 2012. From an Associated Press article posted in the Insurance Journal:

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a North Carolina widow’s lawsuit blaming the Coast Guard for failing to save her husband’s life, saying the agency does not have a legal obligation to launch life-saving rescues.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., ruled that Susan and Roger Turner suffered an accident in coastal waters on July 4, 2007, and it wasn’t because of Coast Guard negligence. The court ruled that federal law authorizes but does not impose a duty for the Coast Guard to launch rescue efforts. Read more...