Posted on 07/11/2012 3:37:09 PM PDT by SJackson
You probably can't sue if you're struck by lightning, but you may be able to sue if a tree falls on you while camping.
At first blush, both may seem like random acts of God. However, while lightning strikes are probably completely unpredictable and happen in an instance, the fact is that trees usually take some time to fall and there are steps that a park can take to prevent injury.
As the summer camping season kicks up, you are sure to read about camping injuries and tragedies. If you have been hurt, you'll want to know whether you can bring a lawsuit for your camping injuries. In many cases, you may be surprised that someone could be held liable for acts of nature.
Last year, campers were killed by fallen trees, waterfalls, and bears. Parks that encourage campers to visit have some responsibility to protect their visitors just as a restaurant or retail store would have responsibility to keep their premises safe too.
Under the legal theory of premises liability, an entity that invites others onto their property or offers a service for money, could be held responsible for injuries that happen on the property. For example, a park that runs a campsite, should take steps to check trees that are at risk for falling and take steps to cut these trees down before they accidentally fall on an unsuspecting camper. Also, if a rainstorm is about to hit, a park could forewarn tourists not to hike up a trail that may be safe when dry, but treacherous when wet.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I’d like to sue Reuters for this crappy article.
What if it doesn't make a sound?
No worries.. you’ll make a sound.
How many time has a tree fallen when all that have been near it never expected it’s collapse.
I have. I have had a large pine (a good 5 plus feet in girth) that one morning just fell without as much as a warning. Roots were intact the day before and no violent weather caused it’s demise except for gravity.
Depends. Big enough tree, the only sound you’ll make is a squishing one. . . (evil grin)
“while lightning strikes are probably completely unpredictable and happen in an instance”
Rooter copy editors (not) at work.
Obviously your tree fell because of global warming. I mean climate change.
"Slip and fall" lawyers rank very high on the list of maladies slowly eating the guts out of our society.
this has nothing to do with the article, it been going around on facebook— of a bull shark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcuYjDR2tSg&feature=plcp
If a man is in the woods and his wife isn't around to hear him, is he still wrong?
It's not my fault. It's not my responsibility. Where's my lawyer?
More sleazy ambulance-chaser type lawyers....
If you or someone you know have been made stoopitter after reading a Rooters article please dial 1-800-FREELDR from your 0bama phone now.
In the olden days crappy articles like this one served a crappy purpose out in the great outdoors, but no more in our virtual reality world.
“while lightning strikes are probably completely unpredictable and happen in an instance”
And if an “unpredictable” lighting strike hit a tree in yesterday’s storm and the injury the tree suffered is not not noticed, and 36 hours later the top half of the tree keels over, on someone, is/was the campsite responsible; and were they negligent in not flooding the park with hundreds of inspectors to survey every tree as soon as the storm ended the day before? If that is what is expected, most campsites would have to close - public or private - because they would be uneconomical to operate; either for paying the extra staff, or humungous insurance premiums.
I myself was “mugged by a tree” a number of years ago, on a street not far from my home, when unbeknownst to anyone, the largest and oldest nearby tree decided it was time to die, and crushed me and my car as I stood at the back end of the car. Major injuries resulted, some results of which will remain with me, the rest of my life.
When some neighbors pressed me to “sue the city” (the base of the tree stood between the curb and a sidewalk), I asked them: “tell me how much you want your taxes to go up, and I’ll be happy to get the money from you”.
On public property, true negligence, true failure to do something that a reasonable person would be expected to do, or deliberate failure to act in a timely manner must be shown; which includes, someone reasonably should have known they needed to act.
An old tree dies. I can’t even blame G-d. It’s just what is. Why is it everyone mistakenly thinks it must always be someone’s definite fault; that always there must be someone who can be blamed. It’s a disease in our culture.
Sue your mother for not aborting an idiot!
OTOH, Freund would have said that, somewhere within your being, you felt the need to get squashed by a tree limb. Thank our lucky stars that Freund was discredited years ago.
Uh oh—Freund=Freud!
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