What are some potential defenses to claims of negligence?
Assumption of the Risk: If you participate in activities that you know are risky or dangerous, it may be determined that you “assumed the risk” of any injuries occurring while engaged in the activity. For example, if you choose to ski down an advanced skier’s slope containing large moguls and are injured, your claim for damages may be unsuccessful, unless you are able to show that your injury resulted from a condition unrelated to those which you were able to assess and appreciate the risk. For example, if the cable breaks on the ski lift and you are thrown from the chair and injured, the defense of assumption of the risk would not apply. Open and Obvious Danger: If you are injured while engaging in an activity involving an open and obvious danger your claim for damages may be unsuccessful. Unlike the defense of assumption of the risk, which focuses on an array of dangers that are inherently possible, the defense of open and obvious danger applies to specific, known dangers. For example, if you know your neighbor has a tempermental pit bull, but you ignore the sign warning “Attack Dog on Duty-Do Not Enter” and enter your neighbor’s yard and the dog bites you, your neighbor may assert the defense of open and obvious danger to your claim for damages, since you understood the danger of being bitten by the dog but chose to disregard the danger and enter the yard. |
