Holy Spirit Lawsuits, Round Two

Receiving the Holy Spirit seems to get more dangerous all the time.

In at least two prior cases, worshippers injured in falls after being "taken by the spirit" have sued their churches for negligence, mostly claiming that the churches failed to adequately train people to catch them.  I don't know how this Kentucky case I reported on last year came out, but the Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld at least one jury verdict against a church in such a lawsuit, finding that under the circumstances the church had assumed a duty to catch.

But there are at least two parties involved in one of these attempted catches (not counting the Holy Spirit itself, whom nobody seems to blame), and I suppose it was only a matter of time before those on the bottom started suing, too.

On Point News reported recently on a new case in Oregon in which Shin Lim Kim is suing her church, alleging that the leader of a service asked her to catch someone he was about to lay hands upon, and then did indeed lay hands upon that person, who promptly "fell backwards and began flailing, falling on and injuring plaintiff."  (The complaint is not clear as to whether the injuries were caused by the flailing, the falling, or some combination thereof.)  The lawsuit blames the church for, among other things, not providing enough catchers and for failing to instruct congregants on the "correct falling procedures" necessary to avoid injury.  Really?  It's a church service, not pro wrestling.

Probably not surprisingly, this lawsuit also blames the faller for "failing to control her body" and negligently falling onto the fallee, "a small and not particularly strong person," who because of the faller's failure to follow correct falling procedures, now suffers from back pain.  The plaintiff seeks about $7,500 in medical expenses, and lots and lots in non-economic damages.

Link: On Point News