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Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall

7/8/2008
James R. Carroll, Jr., Esquire
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Skiier Injured Exiting Chairlift Did Not Assume Risk
From JudicialView.com:
Blocked Departure Area Not an Inherent Risk of Skiing
As Patricia Clarke was preparing to disembark from a chairlift at the Peek ‘N Peak ski resort in February of 2003, she noticed that there were children standing around the unloading ramp. Afraid of running into and hurting one of the children, Clarke straddled one of them, fell and injured her leg.
Clarke brought a personal injury suit against the ski resort, alleging that the operator of the chairlift should have stopped the lift and cleared the exit area. Peek ‘N Peak moved for summary judgment, arguing that skiing is a dangerous activity and Clarke assumed the risk. A magistrate judge recomended that Peek ‘N Peak’s motion be denied.
In its opinion, the District Court analyzed the assumption of the risk doctrine under New York law, determining that the ski resort’s liability hinged on whether it created a dangerous condition over and above that inherent in the sport of skiing. While exiting a chair lift did contain some inherent risks, colliding with another skier was not an inherent risk of exiting the chairlift. By allowing children to gather in the exit area, Peek ‘N Peak created a unique circumstance that made the act of skiing even more risky.  
Additionally, the chairlift operator’s failure to slow or stop the lift and clear a path was in violation of both Peek ‘N Peak’s policy and New York state regulations. As such, there was a question of fact as to whether the ski lift operator had been properly trained to run the chairlift.
The District Court denied the motion for summary judgment based upon assumption of risk.
Clarke v. Peek 'N Peak Recreation, Inc., ---F.Supp.2d ---, 2008 WL 732794 (W.D.N.Y., Mar. 18, 2008)


Labels: assumption of the risk federal court premise liability ski resort slip and fall

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