Archive for the ‘Assumption of Risk’ Category
July 6, 2008
Craig v. Amateur Softball Association of America (Pennsylvania)
(Softball Player Struck in the Head by Softball During Game Assumed the Risk of Injury.)
Plaintiff was struck in the head by a softball while playing in a slow-pitch softball game. He was not wearing a helmet at the time and his injuries were serious injuries. The defendant softball league filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that it did not owe a duty of care to plaintiff to prevent the injury, and that even if such a duty existed, that plaintiff had assumed the risk of this injury by voluntarily choosing not to wear a helmet. In granting defendant’s motion, the trial court ruled that defendant owed no duty to prevent inherent risks of softball. Plaintiff appealed.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, Breach of Contract, Pennsylvania, Rule Violation, Softball, Struck By Object | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2008
Parsons v. Arrowhead Golf (Indiana)
(Court Holds that Golf Course Owed No Duty to Prevent a Golfer’s Back Injury Suffered When He Stepped Out of Golf Cart.)
The defendant managed an 18-hole golf course where the plaintiff was playing golf. The plaintiff stepped off of a golf cart, landed “straight-legged” and immediately experienced lower back pain. The plaintiff stated that the drop was four to twelve inches deep, and that he had not noticed this irregularity on the grounds during his past years of golfing experience on this course. Plaintiff had golfed here once per week for over two years. The manager of the course had regularly inspected the grounds for dangerous conditions and moved walking paths as necessary to ensure that they did not become worn out. In this particular instance, the manager had placed stone where the plaintiff was injured. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant had failed to take reasonable safety measures by negligently maintaining the premises and failing to warn him about the danger. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant based on assumption of the risk, and the plaintiff appealed.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, Dangerous Condition, Field/Surface Conditions, Golf, Indiana, Maintenance, Premises Liability | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2008
Allred v. Broekhuis (Michigan-UNPUBLISHED)
(Court Denies Co-Participant’s Demurrer to Claim by Injure Co-Participant Based on the “Recreational Activities Doctrine.”)
In 2005, the plaintiff was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) eastward on a path designated for use by off-road vehicles. Simultaneously, the defendant was riding an ATV westward on the same course. When passing each other, defendant’s ATV crossed onto the eastbound side of the course and struck the plaintiff. Defendant moved for a judgment on the pleadings based on Michigan’s “recreational activities doctrine” (RAD). Under the RAD, co-participants in recreational activities owe a minimum standard of care not to act recklessly towards other participants. However, plaintiff argued that the RAD did not apply under the circumstances, and that Michigan’s Motor Vehicle Code should control.
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Posted in All Terrain Vehicle, Assumption of Risk, Assumption of Risk Statute, Co-Participant, Demurrer/Motion to Dismiss, Federal Litigation, Legislation, Michigan, Not Published | Leave a Comment »
July 6, 2008
Morales v. Beacon City School District (New York)
(Inexperienced High School Track Athlete Injured During Practice After Coach Directed Him to Run Hurdles With Minimal Instruction; Court Denied School’s Summary Judgment Due to Triable Issue of Fact Regarding Increased Risks.)
The plaintiff was a high school track athlete who had minimal experience running hurdles. He claimed that the coach told him to run hurdles, but failed to give him adequate instruction, resulting in his personal injury. Additionally, the athlete contended the hurdle he fell over was not set up properly because the horizontal bar was uneven. The defendant school moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the plaintiff had assumed the inherent risks of injury by participating in this sports activity. The court denied the motion and the school appealed
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, Coaches, Dangerous Condition, Field/Surface Conditions, High School, Increased Risks, Minor, New York, Student-Instructor, Track and Field, Youth Sports | Leave a Comment »
June 22, 2008
Schoenlank v. Yonkers YMCA (New York)
(A CPR student was injured by an instructor who applied “’forceful’ and excessive pressure and torque to the student’s head and neck for a period of approximately 20 seconds”; Court denied summary judgment for the instructor in finding that a triable issue of fact remained as to whether the instructor had negligently or recklessly enhanced the risk of injury associated with this demonstration.)
The plaintiff was an experienced lifeguard. While taking a CPR re-certification course, the plaintiff decided to volunteer to be part of a demonstration where the instructor showed the class how to “properly” perform a cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) technique known as a “head-tilt, chin-lift.” This technique is a method of clearing the airway of an unconscious person in an emergency situation. During the demonstration, the plaintiff suffered injuries from what he described as an, “application of ‘forceful’ and excessive pressure and torque to [his] head for a period of approximately 20 seconds.” The lower court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment in holding that plaintiff was barred from recovery because he had primarily assumed the risk of injury by volunteering to participate in the demonstration. That court found this risk as being inherent in this sports/recreational activity.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, CPR, Increased Risks, Reckless Conduct, Student-Instructor | Leave a Comment »
November 26, 2007
Harris v. I-44 Lebanon (Missouri)
(Late Model Race Car Driver Injured While Racing on a Dirt Track When a Large Rock Hit His Helmet; Motion for Summary Judgment Based on Waiver and Release Denied; Defense Verdict Issued After Trial)
The case involved late model racing on an oval dirt track in Lebanon, Missouri. The Plaintiff was a 51-year-old lifelong dirt track racer who was injured in 2003 when he was struck by a rock in the mouth area of his helmet during a late model dirt track race.
Roughly five months before this accident, the Lebanon I-44 Speedway was converted from an asphalt track to a dirt race track, which involved laying dirt over the asphalt surface. The initial batch of dirt was unsatisfactory so the track preparer, Randy Mooneyham, removed this dirt and put an entirely new type of dirt on the track. After it was placed on the track, he then used a rock picker, a rock rake and a grader to work the debris out of the track and pack it down throughout the 2003 season. Plaintiff raced on the track several times during 2003 before his accident.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, Auto Racing, Expert Witness Testimony, Field/Surface Conditions, Gross Negligence, Intentional Tort, Maintenance, Missouri, Promoter, Verdict, Waiver and Release | Leave a Comment »
November 7, 2007
Heilig v. Touchstone Climbing, Inc. (California–UNPUBLISHED)
(Rock Climber Falls During a Competition; Release Precludes Negligence Claims; No Allegations or Evidence of “Gross Negligence”; Defendant Entitled to Attorneys Fees Pursuant to Release)
The plaintiff was an experienced and professional rock climber. He was injured in a fall during a rock climbing competition at one of the defendant’s indoor “climbing gyms.” Plaintiff had climbed indoor climbing walls at some of defendant’s six facilities in the Bay Area during the several years preceding the incident. He had been intermittently a member of defendant’s facility, which entitled him to use any of its climbing facilities. Defendant had periodically required plaintiff to sign releases of liability in order to use their facilities.
Plaintiff had taken a few years off from competitive climbing, but had then joined the defendant at its Concord facility on February 4, 2004. At that time, he signed the most recent “Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk Agreement” (“Release”). The Release, in standard form language, specifies that the climber recognizes and assumes the significant risks of climbing, “both known and unknown, whether caused or alleged to be caused by the negligent acts or omission” of the defendant. Pursuant to the Release, plaintiff also agreed to release, discharge, and indemnify or hold harmless defendant from “any and all claims, demands, or causes of action, which are in any way connected with my participation in this activity” or use of defendant’s equipment or facilities, including any “claims which allege negligent acts or omissions” of defendant.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, Attorneys Fees, California, Dangerous Condition, Duty to Indemnify, Fall From Elevation, Gross Negligence, Increased Risks, Indemnity/Hold Harmless, Membership Application, Not Published, Premises Liability, Rock Climbing, Waiver and Release | Leave a Comment »
November 7, 2007
Long Truong v. Cu Van Nguyen (California)
(Woman Died in Watercraft Collision on Lack; Court Ruled Primary Assumption of the Risk Barred Negligent Operation Claim and There was No Evidence of Negligent Entrustment)
The plaintiff was a passenger on a personal watercraft being operated on a lake. She was killed in a collision with another personal watercraft. Decedent’s parents filed a lawsuit alleging that the other rider was negligent in the operation of the personal watercraft and that the owner of the watercraft had negligently entrusted the watercraft to the other rider. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the primary assumption of the risk doctrine precluded negligence liability because they had no duty to protect the decedent from the risks inherent in the activity of riding on a personal watercraft. Defendants also argued that there was no evidence of negligent entrustment. The trial court granted defendants’ motion, and the plaintiffs appealed.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, California, Co-Participant, Personal Watercraft, Wrongful Death | Leave a Comment »
October 24, 2007
Patterson v. Sacramento City Unified School District (California)
(Truck Driver Student Injured Unloading Bleachers During a Community Service Project; School Owed a Duty to Supervise; Activity Not Inherently Dangerous and Primary Assumption of Risk Doctrine Did Not Apply)
The plaintiff was an adult truck driver training course student. He brought a negligent supervision action against a school district after he was injured while loading bleachers onto a flat-bed trailer as part of an off-campus community service project. The defendant school district filed a motion for summary judgment, which was eventually granted by the trial court. The court ruled, in part, that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by the primary assumption of the risk doctrine in that he voluntarily assumed the risks inherent in the activity and the defendant did nothing to increase those risks. The plaintiff appealed.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, College/University, Student-Instructor, Trucking | Leave a Comment »
September 19, 2007
Shin v. Ahn (California)
(Golfer Learns Lesson About Standing in Front of Another golfer Teeing Off; Court Allows Case to Proceed to Trial on Issue of Reckless Conduct)
The plaintiff was golfing in a threesome. He took a shortcut from one hole to the other, which placed him in front of the defendant and to the defendant’s left. Plaintiff stopped at that point to get a bottle of water out of his golf bag and to check his cell phone for messages. He did so even though he knew (1) that he was in front of the tee box, (2) that defendant was preparing to tee off, and (3) that he should stand behind a player who was teeing off. The defendant golfer inadvertently “pulled” his tee shot to the left, hitting plaintiff in the temple. The plaintiff brought a negligence action against other golfer. The parties disputed whether the defendant golfer knew where plaintiff was standing when he teed off. The plaintiff alleged that he and defendant made eye contact before defendant hit his shot, but his accounts of just when that eye contact occurred appeared to be inconsistent and in dispute.
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Posted in Assumption of Risk, California, Co-Participant, Golf, Reckless Conduct | Leave a Comment »
