A legal question for you folks that know.

[TheWalrus]

 My lil redneck podunk town just put in a skate park downtown. Nice place really, lots o dips, dives and bars for them to ride on. (Pardon my complete lack of jargon, I'm no skater) Really a very nice facility though.

 As I was looking at this the other day, and watching the kids eat shit while attempting something that physics alone shouldn't allow, it occured to me that half these little bastards aren't wearing their helmet. Now being a concerned citizen, it occured to me that a slight legal battle might be had if a lil guy split his head wide open on that beautiful concrete.

 So what happens? The city paid for the park to be built. There are no "lifeguards", just a sign posted skate at own risk. Who gets sued when someone dies?

[schild]

I think the Skate at Your Own Risk signs cover the state's ass.

[Pococurante]

... though the signs are really only a social deterrant and won't help squat when someone sues the city and the city settles.

I think a polite letter to the city council is a good idea - what they really need is a list of do's and don'ts posted.  Of course the signs will be vandalized and ignored, but at that point the city has a more defensible position.

But they'll still settle.

[schild]

Just pay some kid to run over your hand. Sue the state.

They'll settle.

[Nazrat]

Yeah, that sign should stop all lawsuits.   

Ok, I am back off of the floor.  Ignoring questions of sovereign immunity, there is a great likelihood that the city will be sued.  Paying damages is a different question.  Cities have all kinds of methods to avoid actually paying for damages.

I hope your city has good liability coverage. 

[Strazos]

I hate how people can still sue, even if there are signs that they have read.

[TheWalrus]

  The thing that bothers me most about this, is that it will happen. It's not an if, it's a when. And when it does, most likely it'll be a kid that wasn't wearing their helmet, because the parents don't really give a fuck.

  Like two years ago, 6 kids got killed in a one car accident. They went off the road, hit a pole and two were flung out the window and impaled on a tree, two were thrown clear, one of which the car rolled on top of after hitting the pole. The other two died inside from the force of the collision. None were wearing their seat belt, and all were on a spectacular combination of alcohol and marijuana. The biggest thing the parents could say was, "I don't understand how this could have happened". 

[Abagadro]

I believe this issue has been litigated pretty extensively already and most get tossed out on an assumption of risk basis. Many states have explicit statutory exemptions for municipalities from tort liability from such things too. It's similar to how the ski resorts are treated. You can do all sorts of stupid shit at a ski resort and they are immune from liability.  I seriously doubt they would build one without knowing they are off the hook as risk management wouldn't let them.

All this is just conjection on my part (although slightly informed as I know a bit about the ski resort stuff).

[Llava]

two were flung out the window and impaled on a tree

Holy shit.

That's a story for the afterlife for damn sure.

[Ironwood]

The biggest thing the parents could say was, "I don't understand how this could have happened". 

Be fair.  If it was your child that was just impaled, you'd probably be in shock and saying the exact same thing.

It's not like you're allowed to say "My Child was a moron and this was only a matter of time..."

[Llava]

True enough.  The grief at that point is, just a complete shot in the dark here, pretty intense.  They don't need the additional depression that would come from self-reflection just then.  Later on, hopefully, they'll start to really think about "how it could happen."

[Pococurante]

People say the damnedest things when they're in deep shock or grief.  I did just three weeks ago when what I thought was a routine visit to my doctor got me immediately bundled off the the hospital for a week of strict bedrest.  When the ER doctor found the problem that first day (pulmonary embolism in my left lung) he came running into my room exclaiming, "You've just won a golden ticket to a hospital bed. You have a clot in your lung that probably originally detached from your legs.  It could break loose at any moment and cause a lethal or debilitating stroke", the first thing that popped out of my mouth was "You're pulling my leg aren't you?!"

It's funny, now... ;)

[Krakrok]

It's not like you're allowed to say "My Child was a moron and this was only a matter of time..."

Actually.. that is exactly what some people say.

Horrific as teenage deaths are, the collective response from their families is often one of grim acceptance. Jeffrey Runge, a former emergency room doctor who's now head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shudders to recall how some parents reacted to hearing their teens had just died in a crash.

"It was amazing how many people would say, 'I guess it was just his time,' " Runge says.

Read more...

[HaemishM]

I'd hope my first words would be, "How the fuck did I raise a child to be that goddamn stupid?"

Followed by weeks of sobbing, handwringing and utter despair.

[Llava]

I'd hope my first words would be, "How the fuck did I raise a child to be that goddamn stupid?"

Followed by weeks of sobbing, handwringing and utter despair.

I would think for most people it would be that, but reverse the order.  Weeks of sobbing, handwringing and utter despair, then at the end of that they think "How the fuck did I raise a child to be that goddamn stupid?"

[Pococurante]

Sigh.

[TheWalrus]

  Well yeah, the kids were stupid, but my point, while not as obvious as it should have been, is that the parents were completely fucking clueless about where their kids were, and what they were doing, and who they were doing it with. 

[Pococurante]

Uh huh.  And your parents?

If mine had ever been clued in I was clearly doing something "wrong".  Yeah I was a bad kid - thank god most of my "pranks" pre-dated centralized computer systems.

We used to joke about that actually - make sure we got our "sins" in before the tech got too good.  Which today it is.

[Sky]

I heartily agree with Poco. It was good to be young before the New Grid emerged. I was a very foolish kid, but damn was it ever fun. The thing I always bring away from my childhood was that my parents instilled enough sense and critical thinking to keep me out of prison. I watched a lot of guys push things too far and end up in the slammer, not cool.

Rather than trying to keep kids safe, I think it's important to teach them how to think for themselves, so they are able to adjust to situations on the fly. Because kids /will/ get into trouble. They're kids.

[TheWalrus]

I live in a really small town with a mom that gives a damn. She knew where I was even when I didn't. I didn't get away with a damn thing.

[Llava]

Uh huh.  And your parents?

If mine had ever been clued in I was clearly doing something "wrong".  Yeah I was a bad kid - thank god most of my "pranks" pre-dated centralized computer systems.

We used to joke about that actually - make sure we got our "sins" in before the tech got too good.  Which today it is.

Ah, the good old days.  I still remember when I hacked the school's computer system to set the fire sprinklers off in the afternoon, and a sexy young thing in a white shirt jiggled past me as my flamboyant and ambigiously gay friend stared in amazement.

Wait, that was Hackers.

[MrHat]

lol, that was classic dude.

[Ironwood]

Sigh.

Seconded.

[Strazos]

Maybe you were naughty kids. I didn't really start any trouble.

Then again, we all lived in a small development, with nowhere else to go.

[Llava]

I was a well behaved kid.  I probably could've gotten away with a lot if I cared to.  But I didn't.  I wasn't one to stir up shit just for the sake of stirring shit up.

[Sky]

Maybe you were naughty kids.

Indeed. Not in the stirring up trouble (on purpose) way, more in the "I'm bored, let's got cliff diving" way. Or "I wonder if my station wagon (66 falcon!) can make it to The Pit?" (The Pit being a large dirtbowl used by ATV riders...a couple miles in the woods down ATV trails). Or "How many women can I get naked before sunrise?"

I had a very fun childhood and I'm lucky to be alive and free, imo.

TW - my mom cared a lot, and tried her damnest to keep me in line. It's not her fault I was more cunning than she, I broke out of my house (and back in) more times than I can count. Eventually, I just used the second story window rather than carry a house key.

[Yegolev]

Did you manage to keep your tiny clown hat on while climbing out the window?

[Strazos]

TW - my mom cared a lot, and tried her damnest to keep me in line. It's not her fault I was more cunning than she, I broke out of my house (and back in) more times than I can count. Eventually, I just used the second story window rather than carry a house key.

Wow, I've never even known anyone who has had to resort to this. I always thought it was something just used in the movies. Like true love.

[Pococurante]

Wow, I've never even known anyone who has had to resort to this.

Youth today - no drive, no imagination...

[Strazos]

Wow, I've never even known anyone who has had to resort to this.

Youth today - no drive, no imagination...

Maybe it's because none of us growing up ever had a hard curfew. We didn't really have anywhere to go when we were younger anyway; the other side of the block, the woods? Oooo, might get run over by a deer.

The ghetto kids at my school may have done some of this, because drinking Natty Light in the woods makes you a cool rebel...or something.