Posts tagged as:

assumption of risk

My new post at Cato at Liberty, following on a theme pursued by NYT science writer John Tierney, looks at some of the risks of trying to make children’s play too safe. More: UK Telegraph (“Health and safety fears are taking the joy out of playtime.”); Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids.

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Yet another lawsuit against a Manhattan bar filed by a patron who fell off its mechanical bull [New York Post]

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The best-known operator of British amusement parks has ordered its staff “to ban anyone found guilty of bumping into each other in the electric cars equipped with huge bumpers. Bemused customers who assume that the ‘no bumping sign’ is in jest are told to drive around slowly in circles rather than crash into anyone else for fear of an injury that could result in the resort being sued.” [Louise Gray, Telegraph via Free-Range Kids]

Also: California appellate court rejects assumption of risk defense and denies summary judgment to bumper car injury claim [Bill Childs, MassTort.org]

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“The suit [by a Florida man against the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain and a flower importer] states the roses should have been stripped of their thorns and the stems should have been wrapped more carefully.” [UPI]

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A proposed Hawaii law would assign liability to guidebook writers for some injuries at risky tourist sites [WSJ]

“In a brief opinion released today, the New York Court of Appeals agreed with lower courts that a golfer hit by an ‘errant’ shot could not sue his co-golfer for negligence, because one who chooses to golf assumes the risk of being whacked by a golf ball.” [Lowering the Bar, AP, earlier]

“I guess you know your date didn’t go very well when you get sued afterward.” [Lowering the Bar; Stanislav v. Papp] Per the New York appellate court’s statement of facts:

Plaintiff was injured when she fell off a horse while on a date with defendant. She alleges that defendant was negligent in failing to properly warn her and appreciate her limited level of skill as a rider, and in failing to pay proper attention to her request that the horses proceed at a slow pace in a careful manner.

The judges, however, upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the case (citations omitted):

Plaintiff has provided no evidence or authority which supports her contention that defendant owed her a duty to insure that the horseback riding experience was safe. As a person with experience riding horses, plaintiff was aware that the risks of falling from a horse or a horse acting in an unintended manner are inherent in the sport. Defendant’s conduct was not so unique or reckless as to create an additional unanticipated risk for plaintiff.

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Two doctors, frequent golf partners, were playing a round together when one was struck in the face at close range by the other’s ball. Lower courts dismissed the resulting case, which is now on appeal. [Lowering the Bar, WSJ Law Blog] Plus: WLF (“this is not a lawyer or doctor joke.”)

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Prince George’s County, Maryland: “The jury found that the tournament organizer, Baseball Players Association, built the pitcher’s mound too big and too deep.” [Ron Miller]

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May 16 roundup

by Walter Olson on May 16, 2010

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And then sues would-be suicide over foot injury sustained in the jump. The unusual case reached an Illinois appellate court last year, which ruled that a suit could proceed against the would-be suicide, though not his wife, who had also been named as a defendant on the grounds that she had requested the plaintiff’s help. [Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog]

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“Slo-pitch player sues field owner after being struck by ball” reads the headline of the Globe and Mail’s story from Hamilton, Ontario. A judge is allowing the suit to go forward, noting “that diamond officials had talked about putting up sun screens at the field.”

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December 21 roundup

by Walter Olson on December 21, 2009

  • “CBO Stands By Its Report: Tort Reform Would Save Billions” [ShopFloor; our weekend post on what actually wound up in Reid bill]
  • “Indianapolis Tacks on Steep Fines for Challenging Traffic Tickets” [Balko]
  • “Fugitive Located Inside Homeland Security Dept. Office” [Lowering the Bar]
  • Assumption of risk? New York courts field legal complaints over mosh dance injuries [Hochfelder]
  • Company claiming patent on Ajax web technique is suing lots of defendants [W3C, ImVivo via @petewarden]
  • Why Arizona voters still back Sheriff Joe [Conor Friedersdorf/Daily Dish, von Spakovsky/NRO (deploring "persecution" of Arpaio), Greenfield]
  • “Are Breast Implants and Donated Organs Marital Assets?” [Carton, Legal Blog Watch]
  • “Disbarment Looms for First Attorney Convicted Under N.J. Anti-Runner Law” [NJLJ]

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December 16 roundup

by Walter Olson on December 16, 2009

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Trespasser sues railroad

by Walter Olson on November 20, 2009

She “was taking pictures on the railroad tracks in Tupelo in 2006″ and things didn’t end happily. Now her lawsuit says the train was going too fast and that the BNSF Railway Company “should have posted trespassing signs to keep people away.” People like her, that is. [AP/Jackson Clarion Ledger]

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November 10 roundup

by Walter Olson on November 10, 2009

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Add another to our list of tavern patrons who discovered that dancing on the bar was not as safe a pastime as they initially assumed. This time the scene of the accident, and target of the resulting lawsuit, is Nashville’s Coyote Ugly Saloon. Her attorney says Ms. Barnes “‘had had a few drinks’ but was not drunk.” [Tennessean via Day]

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September 24 roundup

by Walter Olson on September 24, 2009

  • Florida man and attorney file multiple ADA complaints against businesses in Seminole-Largo area [Tampa Bay Newspapers]
  • “The growing ambitions of the food police”: FrescaBottleCapdietary paternalism in Bloomberg’s NYC and Washington, D.C. doesn’t go over well with writers at Slate [William Saletan, Jacob Weisberg, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Glenn Reynolds]
  • Assumption of risk is alive and well in New York cases over sports and spectator injuries [Hochfelder first, second, third posts, NYLJ]
  • Favorable review of William Patry, “Moral Panics and the Copyright Laws” [BoingBoing]
  • Kentucky high school case: “Coach Acquitted in Player’s Heatstroke Death” [ABA Journal]
  • Olivia Judson on the Singh case and the many problems with British libel law [NYT; earlier here, here, etc.]
  • Kids behave stupidly with girlfriends/boyfriends or dates, then the law ruins their lives [Alkon, Balko, Sullivan]
  • “Report a bad doctor to the authorities, go to jail?” [Orac/Respectful Insolence, Texas; disclosure of patient and official information alleged against nurses]

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