Lawsuit filed over zip line fatality in Utah

Posted: January 27, 2011 | Author: Recreation Law | Filed under: Challenge or Ropes Course |4 Comments

A Statement in the article could lead to more litigation.

The article is pretty clear cut describing an accident at a vacation ranch where a family went for a week. During the week, they participated in a zip line which broke. The father, a 54 year old physician fell to his death.

What has me concerned is a statement in the article.

… formal records of accidents and fatalities aren’t kept, but anecdotal evidence and accident reports that the trade groups monitor show the incidents are few. [emphasize added]

Now the world knows that accident reports are being kept by a trade association. A simple subpoena to the association and every injury that has occurred on a zip line or for that matter, a ropes/challenge course is now fodder for litigation. Either as evidence that accidents happen or a prospecting list for new clients.
What is the difference between the accident reports kept by a trade association and the articles I write? Several issues.

I write what can be found by simple online searches. So the information, other than my comments, is easily found by anyone researching zip line accidents.

I’m not a trade association, so I am not blessing the accident reports. Reports introduced into evidence by a plaintiff from a trade association are going to carry more weight in court because they are the real thing, the “official report” of the association.

To introduce the evidence into court, there must be a person. I can’t be used to introduce the facts of the articles I write because I have no personal knowledge of the facts. I’m just commenting on what is read, adding my experience and knowledge of the law. A trade association employee who is responsible for collecting and keeping the reports can be subpoenaed to court to introduce the reports as business records of the association. Voila a lot of possibly bad information is now in court proving the plaintiff’s case. More importantly that knowledge and subsequently those reports are going to appear in every case that exists.

For proof see the stories that occurred two years ago when the BSA fought to keep records out of court. Once those records were admitted, lawsuits sprang up everywhere because the information was now available.

To see other articles about Zip lines see:

Ropes course injury

Amusement Zip Line Error in Mexico

Zip Line Fatality

Update on Recent Zip Line Fatality

Zip lines, BSA and Lawsuits

Lawsuit filed over death caused by zip line to man riding chair lift.

They are not just a cable strung between two trees

Lawsuit filed against a Zip Line tour company

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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4 Comments on “Lawsuit filed over zip line fatality in Utah”

Recreation Law says:

June 26, 2013 at 5:06 PM

Payouts in Outdoor Recreation http://rec-law.us/121q2k2. This is a list of those that have paid a claim or had a judgment that I can find. You can also scroll down the to the bottom of the categories list to Zip Line. That will bring up approximately 9 pages of articles about Zip Lines.

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J. Riley Johnson, Jr., Norfolk, VA says:

June 26, 2013 at 12:21 PM

I would like to know of any suit or suits filed over injuries sustained on Ziplines and how they turned out. JRileyJohnnson13@gmail.com

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Lori Pingle says:

February 16, 2012 at 2:27 PM

what is the trade association that keeps the injury and accident information?

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- Jim Moss says:
  
  February 16, 2012 at 9:33 PM
  
  There is no association that does that. That information is “discoverable” in a lawsuit and can be used in a lawsuit against zip line owner, builder or manufacturer.
  
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