Subject:
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Re: Age limitations - re liability
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org
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Date:
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Thu, 6 Jul 2000 16:46:00 GMT
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Viewed:
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741 times
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Kevin Wilson wrote:
>
> I am puzzled by the liability problems referenced in this thread.
> Someone mentioned, as a comparison, the SCA (Society for Creative
> Anachronism), and I'd just like to draw that parallel in a little more
> detail:
>
> The SCA holds large events for in mostly public places. These events
> include fighting of several kinds, with just a rope and "marshals"
> between the fighters and the audience. Fighting often happens on open
> fields with a rough surface. Events also frequently involve (if the
> venue allows it) consumption of alcohol and tobacco, and also lighting
> and cooking by open flames, open campfires, and long flowing clothing.
> Age range at these events is from newborn to ancient. You would think
> the liability issues in an event like this would be very high, but the
> SCA works on a system of waivers. I worked the gate at a recent event
> and the waiver system can be a bit of a pain, but it's not that bad:
> adult non-members (members already having a permanent waiver as part of
> membership) who will be on the field in whatever capacity, sign waivers:
> all minors have their parents sign waivers and carry a medical
> permission form at all times. The SCA has been doing this for something
> like 30 years. They carry insurance, and I am told come under the same
> risk category as curling :-)
>
> I'd really like to know how the liability at a Lego club meeting (one
> not held in a bar, which obviously minors could not attend anyway) could
> be worse to deal with than this, such that a waiver wouldn't do the
> trick?
Some thoughts...
At least in the US, waivers actually are worth very little. Probably the
only place they really do any good is permission slips for public school
activities. Of course here, the government is already relatively immune
to lawsuits, so the permission slip just assures that the parent did
indeed give the government permission to take the kid on a field trip or
whatever.
Does the SCA have insurance for the whole organization, or are
individual groups required to cary insurance? If the former, the SCA is
probably large enough to be able to get decent rates, and insurance
which doesn't tell them "oh, you can't have minors at your events
because..."
Unfortunately the US legal system is very broke in the whole liability
arena. The result is that relatively safe activities are regularly
banned. Property owners are advised by their insurance companies to not
allow certain activities (as cavers we run into this regularly, despite
the fact that in truth, the property owner should have about zero
liability for something which happens in a cave on his property). On the
other hand, situations where liability is obvious require a lawsuit to
get the remotest sense of justice (I may have missed something, but has
NYC stepped forward and offered any compensation in any of the recent
accidental killings by police?). On top of that, the government is
relatively shielded from liability.
If the system weren't so broken, I think in general a LUG would have
very little liability concerns. The normal activities of a LUG simply
shouldn't be dangerous. This is very different from the SCA (with it's
combats, which could cause injury to someone other than a participant
[who should have no recourse so long as they have signed a waiver and
the SCA's safety rules weren't being violated]).
--
Frank Filz
-----------------------------
Work: mailto:ffilz@us.ibm.com (business only please)
Home: mailto:ffilz@mindspring.com
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Age limitations - re liability
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| I am puzzled by the liability problems referenced in this thread. Someone mentioned, as a comparison, the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), and I'd just like to draw that parallel in a little more detail: The SCA holds large events for in (...) (24 years ago, 6-Jul-00, to lugnet.org)
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