Archive for the ‘Youth Sports’ Category
July 6, 2008
Gerry v. Commack Union Free School District (New York)
(Injured High School Shot Putter’s Assumed Risk of Being Hit by Shot.)
The plaintiff, a high school student-athlete shot putter, was injured when he was hit with a shot thrown by the defendant during a track meet. As a member of the school’s track team, plaintiff had participated in 10 to 15 similar track meets, and he had thrown the shot himself between 100 and 200 times. The trial court granted the defendant school district’s motion, dismissing the case, and the plaintiff appealed. On appeal, the Court explained that “[i]n assessing whether a defendant has violated a duty of care in the context of an injury sustained during a sport or game, [it] must [be] determine[d] whether the defendant created a unique condition ‘over and above the usual dangers that are inherent in the sport’.” The Court concluded that there was “no evidence in the record that any conduct on the part of the defendants created a unique condition over and above the usual dangers associated with the sport of shot put.” Therefore, the Court affirmed the ruling. The plaintiff attempted to offer the declaration of an expert witness on appeal, but the Court stated that the plaintiff had unreasonably delayed in identifying the expert witness.
NOTE: Technically a determination of the inherent risks in an activity should not inolve the analysis of a participant’s subjective experience. The inherent risks are the inherent risks regardless of anyone’s particular experience or knowledge. Nonetheless, whenever evidence of extensive experience is available, it is generally useful to include from a defendant perspective as it may help balance the equities and alleviate any sympathy facotrs that may be asserted. It would have been interesting to see how the court would have dealt with the expert witness testimony if it had been timely and admissible. It has always been a point of contention, and there is not been total consensus, in terms of whether or not expert witnesses should be allowed to offer opinions to the court as to what it or is not an inherent risk in an activity.
Posted in Assumption of Risk, Co-Participant, Expert Witness Testimony, High School, Minor, New York, Struck By Object, Track and Field, Youth Sports | 1 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 »
October 24, 2007
Krathen v. School Board of Monroe County (Florida)
(High School Cheerleader Injured During Practice; Waiver and Release Signed by Parent Enforced, Negligence Claims Barred)
A high school student injured during a cheerleading practice brought a negligence action against the school board. She alleged that the school board was negligent in the following respects: (1) by failing to adequately supervise the cheerleading practice; (2) by conducting the practice without adequate preparation; (3) by using inexperienced or untrained personnel to supervise the practice; (4) by failing to place protective mats on the floor so as to cushion the impact; (5) by conducting the practice without the coach being present; and (6) by failing to abide by or follow appropriate school board policies and/or procedures relating to extracurricular activities. The defendant school board filed a motion for summary judgment based upon the “Consent and Release of Liability Certificate” signed by the cheerleader and her parents prior to her participation. The trial court granted the motion, and the cheerleader appealed.
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Posted in Cheerleading, Coaches, Florida, High School, Minor, Waiver and Release, Youth Sports | Leave a Comment »
July 17, 2007
City of Santa Barbara v. Superior Court (California-Supreme Court)
(California Supreme Court Holds that Sports and Recreation Waiver and Release and Express Assumption of the Risk Agreements Cannot Exculpate a Party from Gross Negligence; May Have Voided Thousands of Existing Agreements)
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court issued a lengthy published legal opinion addressing the enforceability of waiver and release and express assumption of the risk agreements. The court held that such agreements cannot protect sports and recreation providers and organizers from “gross negligence” liability, which was defined as as either a “want of even scant care” or “an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct.” This ruling is a departure from prior California case law which supported the conclusion that absent a statute providing otherwise, there was no legal distinction among degrees of negligent conduct (e.g. “ordinary negligence” versus “gross negligence”). As an immediate result of this ruling, one can expect that all lawsuits hereinafter filed relative to injuries suffered by participants in sports and recreation will include a cause of action for “gross negligence.” This decision clearly makes it easier for a plaintiff to create triable issues of material fact and defeat motions for summary judgment. More cases will inevitably proceed toward trial resulting in a high percentage of settlements and increased settlement value as the result of reduced leverage. Courts will be reluctant to decide the absence of “gross negligence” as a matter of law, and juries will undoubtedly have a difficult time evaluating and understanding the distinction between “ordinary” and “gross” negligence.
Perhaps more importantly, the court’s decision may end up having the sweeping effect of immediately voiding existing agreements that are currently being used by the industry. The court’s ruling implied that any agreement that purports to cover more than ordinary negligence (e.g., by the use of language such as “any and all negligence” and/or “all forms of negligence”) are unenforceable as contrary to public policy. As a result, every individual and entity using waiver and release and express assumption of the risk agreements needs to promptly evaluate and analyze their current agreements and make revisions necessary to comport with the new state of the law. Please feel free to contact us for additional information and assistance in this regard.
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Posted in California, Gross Negligence, Minor, State's Highest Court, Waiver and Release, Youth Sports | Leave a Comment »
