Middlebury College getting sued over climbing wall accident by student

The Rutland Herald is reporting that Middlebury College is being sued by a student for an injury she received in on a climbing wall. The suit alleges she received injuries to her ankle from a fall in 2006.

The allegations seem to direct the claims at the safety mats which were inadequate and unsafe.

Looking over the Middlebury College website a release is downloadable on the climbing wall hour’s page. The release appears to be well written, however it does not have a venue and jurisdiction clause. The law suit is filed in New York which prohibits the use of releases, however a release has been upheld when used by a college or university climbing wall suit because the university was not a place of amusement.

See Former student sues over accident

For information on New York’s law on releases at they affect college or university climbing walls see State Law Prohibiting Releases and NY State Law Does Not Prohibit Releases in All Cases.

For other New York cases in college programs see Court decides participant cannot assume the risk of a team building exercise.

Any injury at a climbing wall is sad and ankle injuries are a pain both the injury and through the healing process. But the pads at the bottom of the wall are visible to anyone getting ready to climb. The thickness and arrangement should have been visible to the climber. At some point you have to look around you in life and make a decision about the risk. We developed eyes and a brain, senses in our feet and hands and all of those senses would have keyed someone into thinking about the issues of landing on those pads.