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MX, SX & Off-Road Discussions
General Moto | Off-Topic Posts
Opening an MX park for public use-what are the pitfalls?
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[QUOTE="Slips, post: 763266, member: 50431"] "It's not the rider that will sue you either, it's their insurance company. They hate paying claims." I am an attorney in Texas and I enjoy seeing statements like the above. I retired early from a very large police department, going to law school while still detective. I am blessed enough to only have to work part time any more. LOL, I mention that so folks will know I really did have a job before becoming an attorney... too funny. I do a little personal injury stuff and am starting to get more interested in track liability. The problem I see is most track owners simply don't pay enough attention on how to avoid lawsuits! More of that in a minute but first here is a little history lesson. Insurance companies made a LOT of money back in the days of rampant stock speculation. They passed on much of that to their customers. Then the market crashed and they lost tons of money. They simply had to tighten their belts. Claims they would have paid with little thought suddenly became more of an issue. Economics dictated they do either or both of two things. They had to cut costs (including claims), raise premiums or both. Consumers are who they often must pay claims to and who pays premiums. So the consumer got hit both coming and going. And again, the base reason was because of stock speculation. Getting rich was fun while it lasted. So what do the insurance companies do? Blame the lawyer. Think about it a second. The attorney isn't the one getting hurt and making a claim. But the insurance companies can't really blame their customers. Just blame the mailman. Much more popular than blaming the one that wrote the letter. Tort reform is all fun and games till someone loses an eye! LOL, then it's pretty sad. Anyway, back to the legal issues. Check out the April, 2004 issue of Dirt Rider. On page 16 is an much too short article about the International Motercycle Safety Association (ISMA). They will help you keep your track running by trying to shield you from lawsuits. Their idea is pretty slick. They cover a rider for 10k of medical insurance if they get hurt on an ISMA approved track. That insurance stacks on top of the general liability policy like you buy from one of the huge money-grabbing insurance companies. (If I sound like I dont like insurance companies in general that's not the case. They are simply huge and money-grabbing) If a rider is injured he or she can use the medical insurance to pay the medical bills. Now that does not shield the track from liability from doing something stupid like building a blind jump right where other riders are trying to exit the track and land on top of them... I actually saw that last night. That's simply a case of stupidity on the track owners part and no one can insure against that. The beauty, as I see it, of IMSA is a rider who is simply riding fast and hard, falls and busts his arm has no real reason to sue if his meds are covered. The track wasn't negligent, he or she signed a waiver (In Texas if someone is 51% or more contributorily negligent they take nothing) and there is no harm, no foul and most beautiful, no lawsuit. There are some requirements to getting the IMSA endorsement. According to the article only 25% of the tracks that apply are granted the insurance. On page 122 of the same Dirt Rider there is a good article on safe track design with ideas by some of the brightest minds in motocross construction and riding. You might want to consider some of those ideas. Bottom line, no one wants to see a track closed due to a lawsuit. On the other hand, there ARE ways to protect from being sued. Reasonable track design and safety, waivers are parts of the solution. I believe people love to ride and as the sport matures many safety measures that are ignored today will be an accepted part of the sport soon. Anyway, I have been waiting to weigh in on this very important matter and felt this was a good time. I am not sure anyone will get anything from it but me, however I enjoyed typing this out! Feel free to email me for a phone number if you or anyone wants to talk track liability. I very much want to protect our tracks! I love to ride and had a blast riding on my local track along with my 14 year old boy last nite! I am willing to look into any issues I can. I also know some excellent attorneys here in the North Texas area and if I dont know the answers I can find out in many cases. [/QUOTE]
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MX, SX & Off-Road Discussions
General Moto | Off-Topic Posts
Opening an MX park for public use-what are the pitfalls?
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