Listers,
A while back I posted a question regarding liability exposure of
participants in vintage races. Since then I have learned a bit about this,
and felt I was obliged to pass on some of the info.
Again, if this subject offends you, please just delete this message NOW &
read no further. Also, please let's NOT start another round of stupid
lawyer bashing (are there any other kind of lawyers? OOPS, sorry, there I
go).
My thanks to Larry Dent for providing the best feedback to my initial
inquiry.
In summary, in my research so far I have not found a single instance of an
amateur race driver being successfully sued. Nearly all the suits I have
found, were against race track owners and/or race organizers. Also, the
waiver/release form that you sign when you enter the track seems to hold up
very well in court. Also, the courts have generally upheld the "assumption
of risk" defense in nearly every case I've reviewed. Another effective
defense in some cases, has been contributory negligence. Bottom line seems
to be that you would probably have to do something INTENTIONAL, or be
GROSSLY negligent (a willful & wanton disregard for safety) to be held
liable.
The above is admittedly a gross oversimplification of the subject, but I do
not want to bore the readers on this list with too much info about a rather
unsavory topic. Please don't jump down my throat with some obscure case
involving junior riders in sulkies and a sympathetic jury, it's probably out
there somewhere.
If you would like more info, you can look for references regarding "sports
law", and specifically "torts in sports". I couldn't find any in my local
libraries or booksores, but the dot-com bookstores have some. Again, not
many cases in auto racing, but some of the cases involving horse racing,
hockey, football & baseball are interesting.
Respectfully yours,
Mark Palmer
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