If you have a paralyzed victim you are going to have a lawsuit. The money is too great for anyone to turn down.
Posted: May 11, 2010 Filed under: Skydiving, Paragliding, Hang gliding 3 Comments
Skydiver with 189 jumps argues in court that he did not know of the risks.
The plaintiff in this lawsuit claims that he asked the jump operator about the risks of hitting the tail of the plane while jumping. The diver operator on the stand testified that he did have the conversation. However, the conversation was a little flippant.
However, after 189 skydiving jumps you have to know the risks of skydiving. The defendant is claiming that the injured skydiver used bad technique, which caused his injuries.
The plaintiff was paralyzed after the jump. The plaintiff is now walking with a cane, but living at home and requiring around the clock medical care. Whenever you have a paralyzed participant, the medical costs, future medical costs, lost income are so significant that there is always going to be a lawsuit.
For lawyers, it is like buying a lottery ticket. The odds might be great, but the payoff makes it worthwhile. The odds against you decrease significantly if you can get the victim in front of a jury. It is hard not to feel sympathy for someone in a wheel chair or unable to take care of themselves.
See Man testifies skydive center downplayed risk
What do you think? Please leave a comment.
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I think greed gets the best of people and lawyers too. The do it 100x and then suddenly forget something or lie so that they can sue and try and get money. What also worries me is that he is probably considered a professional skydiver and states he’s didn’t know any risks involved.
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I’m 3000 feet above the ground and I’m leaving the airplane……looks safe to me……. :)
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I think it’s crazy for the skydiver to say he didn’t know about the risks of jumping. Especially if he has jumped 189 times. I know a lot of the risks and I haven’t even jumped yet. It’s clear that it’s extremely dangerous and the diver pinning it on ignorance is just dumb. Shouldn’t there be a waiver or release of liability form that is filled out before a jump. The skydiving company should cover themselves for accidents and maybe they will get out of a lawsuit.
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