Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Helmets and The Law

On Sat, 15 Jun 2002 15:22:27 GMT, Ridecamp Guest <guest@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>Lois shayloans@xxxxxxx
>I have to agree with the man who cautioned about 
>the liability of AERC for not requiring all safety 
>equipment  in AERC sanctioned rides.   If a person 
>is injured who is not wearing a helmet,  a good 
>attorney would file a suit against AERC, ...

This is hardly a new issue, it came up back when I was still on the
Board.  We got advice of an attorney at the time about this, and if it
was such a danger as some people are claiming, our insurance company
would not provide liability coverage unless we had such a rule.  Yes,
liability insurance companies do impose such requirements when they
believe they are necessary, and they have a lot of experience with
being sued.

Now, anyone can sue at any time for any reason, that doesn't mean
they'll be successful.  If you want to see what rules it would take to
satisfy the litigious, look at the classic cartoon of the "OSHA
Cowboy," with his safety net around the horse, seat belts, etc.  (You
can see it at http://www.hsegroup.com/hse/text/cowboy.htm )

I wouldn't be surprised if in that example of the bicycle race getting
sued for not specifying a "certified" helmet, that the "certified" was
the real issue -- once they specified using a helmet, they assumed the
responsibility of their riders using safe helmets.  They may have put
themselves in the position of being liable, where if they not said
anything at all about helmets they wouldn't have been liable.
Perhaps, I don't know the details of the case.

One thing I've seen for many years now, though, is that some people
who want to impose a rule on others use the threat of being sued as a
club to beat the opposition with.

-- 

Joe Long
jlong@xxxxxxx
http://www.rnbw.com


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