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Recreation businesses and organizations face daunting expectations daily to provide services and activities which entertain, stimulate, and engage the public in a variety of ways. Many of the activities and programs offered imply that risk is inherent and injuries imminent by the nature of the activity, such as rock climbing, skateboarding, contact sports and white-water rafting.
Consent And Notice Are Not Enough
Recreation businesses and organizations may assume that an awareness of activities means that participants may be equally aware of the dangers and risks--but not all risks are clearly understood because of age, inexperience or other reasons. Further, assuming a participant knows the real dangers inherent in an activity or sport is a danger to the agency. Therefore, the professional provider has an even higher stake to make certain that risk is somehow managed without removing the core of any service or activity, thereby diminishing its reward for the participant, losing its market appeal, etc.
Simply posting a warning sign is not enough, as litigation continues to make clear. (Recently, a Connecticut lawsuit made this point again in Hanks v. Powder Ridge Restaurant Corporation et al (SC 17327).) More can--and must--be done. It is often not the activity that presents the gravest danger, but surrounding conditions, environments, locations, adjacencies and even staff judgments that may appear to be unrelated to the service that pose a risk. It is these more-obvious factors that can often be the culprits in a liability lawsuit, where the reasonably prudent professional person standard is used to make a case and prove negligence.