Pursuing Slip And Fall Fatality Lawsuits At A Skate Rink

31 December 2017
 Categories: , Blog


Skating rinks should be a fun place to enjoy ice skating fun. However, it is possible that someone you know and love could slip and fall and get seriously injured here. Even worse, they could possibly die. Can you pursue a personal injury lawsuit? Yes, but it can be a challenge.

Fall Fatalities Are Not Uncommon

Fall fatalities may not seem very likely, but statistics show that they account for about 16 percent of all deaths in the workplace. While statistics for falls on an ice rink aren't commonly known, it is easy to imagine a lot of people slipping in this environment. Even worse, they could hit their head on the hard ice and suffer serious brain injuries. In this instance, you may have a lawsuit on your hands.

Proving Liability In This Case

Slip and fall cases focus on the defendant being negligent or somehow contributing to the fall. For example, a rink owner may not have marked off dangerously slippery areas or failed to fix a leak that caused ice to develop in areas outside of the rink. If someone you loved fell, hit their head, and died in this situation, you may be able to pursue a lawsuit.

That's because the owner of an ice rink must provide what is known as reasonable safety measures for protecting their customers. If they fall to meet these standards and someone gets hurt, they are liable. However, they may also use the open and obvious defense to avoid serious financial injury.

The Problems Of The "Open And Obvious" Defense

One problem that you may run into when pursuing a slip and fall case on an ice rink is the open and obvious defense. This defense negates the concept of negligence by the defendant if the danger was something that any reasonable person should have known to avoid. For example, a person who walks on an ice rink without skates and slips and falls was behaving in an unsafe way.

The defendant is not liable for a plaintiff acting in a blatantly and obviously unsafe manner. As a result, it is possible that you may lose this case even if a person died slipping on the ice. However, other factors may influence why the slipped and fell. For example, the plaintiff may not have kept the ice properly frozen and caused a person skating normally to fall and die.

In these kinds of difficult cases, it is important to always talk to a professional personal lawyer before moving forward. These skilled officials will be able to identify a way for you to win and will pursue difficult and challenging cases with vigor. Go to website for more information.


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