Cengage Advantage Books: Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business 2nd Edition by Marianne Jennings, Albert Napier, Marianne Jennings

Exercise 2

Am I My Brother's Keeper?
In 2006, David Sharp, 34, from Britain, was not handling the climb to the summit of Mount Everest well (victim of oxygen deprivation) and collapsed on the ground. Forty other climbers passed him by, and unable to move, Mr. Sharp froze to death. Those who passed him by indicated that the conditions are rugged and that climbers know going in that they may have to pay the ultimate price. Lincoln Hall, 50, from Australia, was discovered by an American guide after he had spent a night on the freezing mountainside. The MyHeroProject describes Mr. Hall's condition as follows: "He was sitting on the trail with his jacket around his waist, wearing no hat or gloves. He was suffering from symptoms of edema, frostbite and dehydration. He was alone and hallucinating; and generally incoherent in his responses to their offers of help. He was without any of the proper equipment for survival in such conditions. He had collapsed the previous day on his way down from the summit."
Mr. Dan Mazur and his team abandoned their climb and stayed with Mr. Hall until rescuer sherpas could come to help. Mr. Hall's team assumed that he was dead and had called his wife the evening before to tell her.
In the years since 1953, 3,000 climbers have made it to the Everest summit, but 200 climbers have died. A climb with a guide costs about $60,000. What do you think makes the difference in the decision process between those who stop to help and those who continue their climbs? Source: Alan Cowell, "Adventurers Change. Danger Does Not." New York Times, June 4, 2006, p. WK 5.