
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 13, 1994                   TAG: 9403130108
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX                                LENGTH: Medium

BOY SCOUTS TO PAY QUADRIPLEGIC

The Boy Scouts of America has agreed to pay $9.5 million to a Springfield man paralyzed three years ago while participating in a belly-flop contest at a Scout summer camp.

The settlement with retired Army Lt. Col. Dan P. Krebill, who is now a quadriplegic, is one of the largest ever reached in Virginia.

Krebill's lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial next week in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The lawsuit accused the Boy Scouts of America and its local council of overlooking unsafe conditions three years ago at Camp Bowman, one of six Scout camps near the Rockbridge County town of Goshen.

Krebill, 45, was a volunteer leader for his son's Fairfax troop when he and other adult leaders squared off for a belly-flop contest in the beginners' swimming area at the camp.

According to Krebill's lawyer, William O. Snead III, the water was about four feet deep, the lake bottom was not visible and no warning signs were posted.

"I was just basically trying to do a belly flop," Krebill said. "I smacked my head on the bottom, and suddenly I was lying on the bottom groping around."

A lifeguard employed by the Scouts said in a sworn statement that he had warned the aquatic director the water was too shallow for the contest, Snead said.

"They didn't tell him how deep the water was. They didn't tell him there was no diving off that dock," Snead said. "They didn't tell him anything other than that their dives would be judged on the splash and the redness of their stomachs."

A spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America said the settlement was not an admission of guilt.

"We devote a massive amount of resources every year to safety," spokesman Richard Walker said. "The fact that we have settled says more that we want to put this tragic incident behind us."

Krebill had to retire from the Army just shy of 20 years of active duty because of his injuries. He can move his arms but cannot grasp things. With two sticks strapped to each hand, he said, he has done some part-time defense work on a computer.

Krebill's son has remained active in his troop.

"I've encouraged him," Krebill said. " . . . I still believe in the ideals of the Scouts."

by CNB