Recently, the Supreme Court has invalidated the broad liability waivers that are printed on the back of ski lift tickets. This has made the liability/accountability of Oregon ski injury lawsuits a topic of which many are wondering who should be at fault. Injured skiers are arguing that a ski resort can not alienate themselves completely from the liability of injuries that happen while using their facilities. Lauren Bagley, who had a son injured at Mount Bachelor in 2006 supports this idea.
Oregon Ski Injury Lawsuit Support
Her son was 18 when he fell on a jump and now is paralyzed for life. Since then the ski resort has not been found at fault but this new invalidation of the liability waiver opens a discussion on whether there is some accountability to be had by the ski resort. The argument confronts the idea that man-operated equipment and enhancements to the slope should be under the liability of the ski resort. The argument solidifies the idea that blame is always placed on the skier and never shifted to the large ski facilities. This use to be supported by a 1979 Oregon law declared skiing an inherently risky activity and therefore shields the ski operators for liability in most instances.
Previous Oregon Ski Injury Lawsuit Prevention
This law was routinely used to block Oregon ski injury lawsuits filed by skiers and snowboards. The notion was that if you entered into something that was considered a risky activity you should be fully aware you may sustain a serious injury. However, new thoughts support that this has allowed the ski resorts too much freedom. This lack of liability can promote slopes and operating equipment that may be unsafe for use beyond the typical risky situations. While accidents are always open to occur in such a risky environment it only seems fitting that the ski resorts acquire some responsibility more then a waiver on the back of a ski lift ticket.
New Oregon Ski Injury Law
This new law would allow participants to file cases where the ski area was neglected or had created unreasonable conditions that occurred by gross negligence of the staff. With this new law the ski resorts would be forced to legitimize each injury even it was ultimately proved not negligent. While this all may seem like good news for the skiers some are arguing that this will increase ski lift tickets as a results of having to respond to each Oregon ski injury lawsuit. Also Mathew Drake, chairman and chief executive of Mt. Hood Meadsows argues that it will costs jobs, limit to public lands and threaten the stability of the economic state of Oregon as a whole.
If you have a ski injury in Oregon please give Ryan Hilts a call today to discuss your potential opportunities.
