Get hurt on a CA Bumper Car, now you can't sue!!

[Sir Clinksalot]

In one of the more sane rulings by the CA Supreme Court:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-amusement-park-injuries-20130101,0,6629591.story

 

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court, protecting providers of risky recreational activities from lawsuits, decided Monday that bumper car riders may not sue amusement parks over injuries stemming from the inherent nature of the attraction.

 

The 6-1 decision may be cited to curb liability for a wide variety of activities — such as jet skiing, ice skating and even participating in a fitness class, lawyers in the case said.

 

"This is a victory for anyone who likes fun and risk activities," said Jeffrey M. Lenkov, an attorney for Great America, which won the case.

 

But Mark D. Rosenberg, who represented a woman injured in a bumper car at the Bay Area amusement park, said the decision was bad for consumers.

 

"Patrons are less safe today than they were yesterday," Rosenberg said.

 

The ruling came in a lawsuit by Smriti Nalwa, who fractured her wrist in 2005 while riding in a bumper car with her 9-year-old son and being involved in a head-on collision. Rosenberg said Great America had told ride operators not to allow head-on collisions, but failed to ask patrons to avoid them.

 

The court said Nalwa's injury was caused by a collision with another bumper car, a normal part of the ride. To reduce all risk of injury, the ride would have to be scrapped or completely reconfigured, the court said.

 

"A small degree of risk inevitably accompanies the thrill of speeding through curves and loops, defying gravity or, in bumper cars, engaging in the mock violence of low-speed collisions," Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the majority. "Those who voluntarily join in these activities also voluntarily take on their minor inherent risks."

 

Monday's decision extended a legal doctrine that has limited liability for risky sports, such as football, to now include recreational activities.

[RoCo]

In hindsight, it does seem unlikely that the court would have ruled differently, but the fact that the suit went this far... crazy. Anyway, YAY for reasonable legal foundations of personal responsibility! Now, I'm going to go jump on a trampoline while juggling kebob skewers.

[Double0Kevin]

^Honestly, I didn't think and still don't think it was going to be a clear choice. Thank goodness for the reasonable ruling. But in the world we live in now-a-days, especially California and their sometimes overboard restrictions, this could have been the straw that broke the camel's back and allowed the death of the bumper car.

 

Great news though! Happy for CGA to have come out of this OK.

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm very happy for this...talk about starting off the new year right with a little bit of common sense!

I was a bit worried from the start but had this feeling that the lawsuit would get tossed as afterall, one of the articles I read a few months ago mentioned about how the lady reached out of the car to brace herself. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you supposed to keep all extremities inside of any ride vehicle to avoid injury? It would be like trying to reach out and touch the wood handrails on Grizzly (like I witnessed GP do) or attempt standing up to touch the overhead beams also on Grizzly...now I know that ride does not deliver ejector air like that.

 

Oh, and Rosenberg, you absolutely have no clue what you're talking about...go back to your closet and never leave it, please.

[XII]

With all the over-regulation today, especially in California, I'm very happy to see that common sense is not extinct in my home state. Hoping that our Supreme Court uses this common sense more often.

[azza29]

"Patrons are less safe today than they were yesterday," Rosenberg said.

 

No, they are just as safe as they have always been.

 

The sense of entitlement attached to this sort of opportunistic, trivial lawsuit really gets under my skin. Not just a US phenomenon either - recently a woman sued Wet'n'Wild because she didn't make it the whole way around the Aqualoop, panicked, and hurt her arm getting out of the slide. The park won but the case shouldn't have even made it to court.

 

Life is inherently risky. Sometimes you get hurt and it's nobody's fault.

 

[/rant]

[JJnCFL]

But Mark D. Rosenberg, who represented a woman injured in a bumper car at the Bay Area amusement park, said the decision was bad for consumers.

You mean bad for those without common sense and personal responsibility and the lawyers who represent them....

 

"Patrons are less safe today than they were yesterday," Rosenberg said.

Does he realize it's 2013 and not 1913?

[traincrossin]

The 6-1 decision may be cited to curb liability for a wide variety of activities — such as jet skiing, ice skating and even participating in a fitness class, lawyers in the case said.

Today I learned one in seven people are against fun.

[dippindotsguy8]

The 6-1 decision may be cited to curb liability for a wide variety of activities — such as jet skiing, ice skating and even participating in a fitness class, lawyers in the case said.

Today I learned one in seven people are against fun.

 

^Lol!

 

I'm relieved to hear that they made the right decision. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, but again, it's sad that the case made it that far in court.

 

Rosenberg is trying to paint the picture that there is now zero accountability for the parks to maintain and safely operate their attractions. How ridiculous! They made it very clear that parks still are expected not to do anything that causes an attraction to become more dangerous that it is by nature.

[simon8899]

*sigh*

 

[caffeine_demon]

That's my plans on how to pay for my next holiday scuppered!

[jray21]

She should never go to Knoebels and ride Skooters Bumper Cars. If she got a fractured wrist from the bumper cars at Great America she would have been killed by the ones at Knoebels! Glad common sense prevailed, even in CA.

[3Mutts]

^ Speaking of which I'm surprised how Knoebels is still allowed to run the way it is knowing Americans....

 

Anyways, VERY happy that this ruled out the way it did, now lets get this national.

[Kyle Coleman]

Guess even california can get one right once in a while. Good to see common sense prevail for a change as it would have set a very bad precedent.

[GayCoasterGuy]

^ Speaking of which I'm surprised how Knoebels is still allowed to run the way it is knowing Americans....

And it runs slower than it used to.

 

Anyways, VERY happy that this ruled out the way it did, now lets get this national.

I couldn't agree more. I'm wondering - did Great America help with her medical bills? I'm not saying they *should* have, but it would have been a nice gesture (before she filed a lawsuit, of course).

[AllenA07]

While I'm not sad that this person didn't recover, I'm generally against limiting liability. Generally it is one of those things that the consumer ends up losing.

[Angry_Gumball]

Tonight, I kicked off my 2013 riding season with a couple rides on CGA's bumper cars...at one point during the ride as we were all just cruising around, the ride op tells us to bump into people after all they are bumper cars

[TPDave]

Finally, common sense wins something!!

 

I'm a big advocate of personal responsibility - It's nice to see that some judges agree

[Blue Fire Guy]

I just wanna say that I too am very happy about this. Victory for common sense! Now if only this could apply towards bringing in Tagadas and European funfair style funhouses.

[jray21]

Now if we can just get this somehow to apply to Kinder Surprises as well!