Really, you should be prepared for a lawsuit when you host a 3-legged race

If you can’t win the “Domino’s Attendance Guess,” the “Applebee’s Shell Game” and the “Monmouth Park Horse Race” then the 3 legged race is your cup of tea.

Here are some helpful hints the next time you enter a 3-legged race, at a ball park between innings.

1. It helps if everyone’s story matches.
2. It helps if you don’t change your story.
3. Grass in the infield during a ball game is usually not wet during the innings.
4. What, you have never run on grass before?
5. It’s not someone else’s job to tell you, you are too fat to participate in a 3 legged race. If you show up to race, learn about it and tie your leg to someone else’s leg you assume the risk!
6. Nerf Tiddlywinks!
See Court upholds dismissal of lawsuit by Somerset Patriots three-legged race.

New Jersey appellate court comes through!

What do you think? Leave a comment.

Copyright 2010 Recreation Law (720) Edit Law, Recreaton.Law@Gmail.com

Keywords: assumption of the risk, 3-legged race, Somerset patriots,

Payouts in Outdoor Recreation

The information here has been collected from various sources. The accuracy is not guaranteed.

Totals by Defendants

Final Update on Lawsuit over fatality caused by attack of bear in Utah State Campground

The plaintiff’s suit was dismissed based on Governmental Immunity.

For a background on this lawsuit see:

The State of Utah is now responsible for what bears do

Lawsuit update: Utah Bear Attack 

An eleven year old boy died when attacked by a bear, which is an extremely said situation. However, the State of Utah cannot be held liable because as a government entity they are protected from suits.

See Judge dismisses state lawsuit over fatal bear attack.

In defending itself, the State of Utah admitted that it was negligent in not warning campers of a bear that had attacked other campers was in the vicinity. This lawsuit will not be a win, if the admission is used in other courts to hold someone liable for the actions of a wild animal.

It is still a bear, and you are out in the woods. When the State of Utah figures out how to control bears, let alone the people in its campgrounds, we will be watching both behind bars.

Volunteer’s kayakers needed May 1 for Ford Ironman triathlon

I’m hoping you’ll help me get the word out to the Grand Canyon family about an upcoming opportunity in St. George on May 1st. I’m a member of the local SAR dive team and as such we are responsible for surface support, via divers and kayaks, at all the local triathlons–usually 3 per year. This year is the first year that St. George will hosting the Ford Ironman triathlon on May 1st. In the past, I’ve been fortunate in finding enough paddlers locally to cover the events, but that won’t be possible for a competition this size–hence, the shout out.

As captain of the kayak section of surface support, I’m looking for a minimum of 50 volunteers. Presently, I have roughly 20 volunteers (none that I know!) and 99% of them have very little time in/on a kayak. I need to find some solid boaters for this event.

The start of an Ironman is impressive. There are two start times; the first are the pros–70 athletes followed 15 minutes later by everyone else–2500 athletes! Chaos for the first 75 to 100 yards of the swim. This is where I need some strong paddlers who can move boats in less than ideal conditions. Kayaks and stand up paddle boards will be stationed throughout the 2.4 mile course and will be first line support to the athletes. Motor boats and jet skis will be secondary.

For anyone interested please go to www.sgcity.org and click on the Ironman link and then the “volunteer” tab at the top. There are many areas besides kayaking where volunteers are needed and people can list three choices on the site. Volunteers will contacted via the captain over each specific area with more info.

Thanks so much!

Michael Caifa

 
Keywords: Ironman, volunteer, Ford Ironman triathlon, kayak

Is the Standard of Care changing?

If everyone does it, yes the standard of care has changed.

Swiss prostitutes armed with defibrillators


 

 
Keywords: standard of care, defibrillators,

If you need a laugh read about corporate giant’s attempts to “go green”

An article Greenwashing So Absurd, It’s Almost Funny would be hilarious if it was not so sad. The article points out twelve attempts by big corporate polluters to go green in an attempt to appease consumers.

• McDonalds Literally Greenwashes its Logo
• “Eco Smart” Hummer
• “Even Our Store Bags are Disposable!”
• Cover the Earth with Toxic Paint
• Fox News + Going Green = ?
• CO2 is Actually Good for the Earth
• Buy Local at Your Neighborhood Citgo
• Eco-Conscious Barbie
• ‘Sustainable’ Iceberg Lodge… In the Desert
• Pure & Natural Disposable Diapers
• Big 3 Auto Executives Drive Hybrids to D.C.
• Exxon-Mobil, Green Company of the Year

The last one has a double absurdity. Forbes Magazine did the anointment of Exxon-Mobil as its green company of the year. Another very un-green company led by Steven Forbes, who is a vocal opponent of climate change.

Job: Rocky Mountain National Park Climbing Ranger

Another great job for the summer.

Job Title: Park Ranger (Climbing), GS-0025-05/07

Department: Department Of The Interior

Agency: National Park Service

Job Announcement Number: SROC-ROMO-10-319716

SALARY RANGE:

    16.10 – 19.95 USD /hour

OPEN PERIOD:

    Tuesday, February 09, 2010 to Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SERIES & GRADE:

    GS-0025-05/07

POSITION INFORMATION:

    Full TimeTemporary NTE 1039 hours

DUTY LOCATIONS:

    few vacancies – Estes Park, CO

WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:

    United States Citizens

JOB SUMMARY:

Do you want to work and play in the great outdoors? Become a Park Ranger for the National Park Service. Park Rangers play an essential role in managing the use of park resources and facilitating visitor enjoyment, patrol backcountry areas, provide emergency services, manage wildlife/human interactions on the roadways or in campgrounds, and encourage visitors to develop a sense of stewardship for park resources.

The seasonal recruitment operations center is currently accepting applications to fill few temporary positions at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Appointments made under this announcement are limited to 1039 hours (six months) in a service year. Appointments may be terminated at any time and can be extended if workload and funding allow. ANTICIPATED EOD: Spring 2010

Few vacancies located at Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado.

The Department of Interior is the guardian of the Nation’s most precious natural and cultural resources and the steward of its trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives. If you are interested in helping us manage the nation’s resources to benefit the American people and preserve the rich and precious heritage of this country, you can build a fulfilling career by joining the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Established on January 29, 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park is a living showcase of the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. The park embraces 415 square miles of pristine, uninhabited mountains in north-central Colorado and, as such, is one of the most spectacular, yet easily accessible high mountain areas in North America. With elevations ranging from 7,800 feet at park headquarters to 14,259 feet at the summit of Longs Peak, the Park has glacier-sculptured valleys, rugged gorges, alpine lakes, and the vast areas of alpine tundra. Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved continuous road in the United States, stays above tree line for 11 miles and reaches 12,183 feet in elevation. Elk, deer, bighorn sheep, moose, coyotes, and smaller animals are found throughout the Park; as well as, threatened and endangered species, such as the Greenback Cutthroat Trout and Boreal Toad. Due to the Park’s easy accessibility to the Front Range communities of Colorado, visitation exceeds 3 million visitors annually, which results in significant resource protection and visitor management incidents.

To find out more about the job and apply go here. Good Luck

Copyright 2010 Recreation Law 720 Edit Law, Recreaton.Law@Gmail.com

Keywords: climbing ranger, national park service, ranger, rocky mountain national park

An Article I wrote was published in Recreation Management

Risk Management Magazine asked me to write an article for their February edition. The article can be found on the web at Risk Management: Preventing Injuries or Preventing Lawsuits?

Copyright 2010 Recreation Law 720 Edit Law, Recreaton.Law@Gmail.com

Keywords: risk management, risk management magazine, risk homeostasis,

Canyon Explorations is accepting applications for an Assistant Manager

CanEx as it’s known in the Grand

Canyon Explorations is accepting applications for an Assistant Manager. The role includes duties & responsibilities in a broad range of areas including logistics management and support, administrative work related to guide management, customer service, and sharing the Manager on Duty (MOD) role with the rest of the management team. The Assistant Manager will work most often side by side with Garrett Schniewind in guide management but will also work closely with the Operations, Reservations and General Managers at times.

This position requires excellent people, organizational, writing, communications, and computer skills (WORD, Excel, & Access). We anticipate this person working annually March 1 to December 15, with time on the river (TBD) and time off during the season as the ebbs and flows of the season allow. Average workweek will be 30 hrs. Wages/Compensation TBD.

To request the full job description call Garrett or Cam @ Canyon Explorations (928-774-4559). Resumes should be emailed to cameron@canyonexplorations.com. Interviews will begin February 24 with the goal of filling this position by March 10.

Keywords: employment, job Grand Canyon, Canyon Explorations

Defendant is right this is a confusing jury verdict

No matter what this is a sad case, but it is a sport, not nerf tiddlywinks. Moreover, anytime you have a deceased child you get verdicts that do not make sense.

A jury in Montana handed an $850,000 verdict against Louisville Slugger over the death of an American Legion ball player. The deceased player was struck in the head by a ball coming off an aluminum bat. The deceased was pitching at the time.

The plaintiff argued the bat was dangerous because the bat caused the ball to travel off the bat faster. Duh, that is why you use an aluminum bat. You can hit the ball farther because the ball has greater velocity. The plaintiffs argued the pitcher did not have time to react. That is correct, those people who do have time to react are easy to identify. They are paid a lot of money; their name is on the back of their uniform, and they are on TV all summer. The rest of us learned to duck!

The defendant argued the bat had been approved by the American Legion program and did not need a warning label.

This is where it starts to get confusing. How many times have you seen the pitcher call time and walk up to the batter and say I need to read the warning labels on your bat. Warning labels are for the user and the pitcher is not the user!

I wonder if the pitcher had used an aluminum bat before. Wouldn’t you know why you were using an aluminum bat, to hit the ball farther and faster, to get the ball past the infield? What if the pitcher had never used an aluminum bat, or the team did not have any, how would a pitcher ever read a warning label. If the pitcher had used an aluminum bat, would he have needed a warning label after he hit the ball once?

Then the issue of a deceased child comes into play. The jury found the bat was not defective and was not required to have a warning label. Then they awarded $850,000 to the plaintiffs. This is not a statement on the value of the loss of a child. Jury verdicts should reflect the loss of something more than emotion and a child is not producing income to justify that large of an award.

The defendant in a post verdict press release made a great statement. The object of the game is to hit the ball hard. If you do not want to play that type of game and face those risks, you play softball or wiffel ball, or you stay at home!

See Montana jury finds H&B at fault in baseball bat lawsuit

 
Keywords: Louisville slugger, little league, aluminum bat, American Legion,

Wow, this could mess up a lot of studies and ideas

It also contradicts to some extent the management theory that all employees want to take advantage of a work injury and sit at home!

Risk and Insurance is reporting that the GAO (Government Accountability Office) found that many employers are failing to report workplace injuries and illnesses. They do so out of fear of increasing worker’s compensation insurance costs.

The study also found that 53% of “health practitioners” had experienced pressure to downplay or not report workplace injuries.

Another issue was employees did not want to report injuries because they felt they would be considered wimps. This issue was appropriately titled the “wimp factor.” I have seen this at numerous outdoor recreation businesses were young and tough is a better “cred” than injured and sitting at home not working.

The article is titled America’s Soft on Safety. The study can be found at Workplace Safety and Health: Enhancing OSHA’s Records Audit Process Could Improve the Accuracy of Worker Injury and Illness Data

Update: TNF lawsuit against the South Butt

The article described the lawsuit then quoted from the brief filed by the South Butt in its response to the TNF lawsuit. “The consuming public is insightful enough to know the difference between a face and a butt.“

New Pair of Garmont Axon Size 29 boots for sale.

I ended up with an extra pair of Dynafit compatible boots for the season. I have a pair of brand new Garmont Axon boots. New, never been molded or skied. These boots have never been in bindings. I have the original box. For information on the boot go to http://www.garmontusa.com/921024211.html

These are size 29.0 which is roughly a size 11 to 12.5 boot. They are a high performance mountaineering/sky boot for Dynafit or most alpine bindings.

New they sell for $749.00. I’m selling this pair for $550.00.

From the Garmont website:

Ski aggressively in the backcountry in this new freeride boot, while keeping it light on the climb. The new Axon features the same downhill performance as the popular Endorphin with both Dynafit® and ski mountaineering binding compatibility.

View Tech Features

* Use: Off-Piste, Freeriding, Booting Up
* Compatible with AT frame and Tech bindings
* Rapid Thermoformable Liners
* Anatomically shaped shell
* Field-replaceable buckles
* Factory modifications recommended by the best boot fitters
* Weight: 2050 grams (size 27.5)
* Sizes: 25-30.5
* U.S. MSRP $749.95
* Canada MSRP $829.95

If you want to buy them, email me at recreation.law@gmail.com