Oakland sports injury lawyer

When Adventure Goes Wrong: Compensation for Injuries in Extreme Sports and Adventure Activities

May 4, 2016 | Gregory J. Brod

Californians love adventure. From extreme sports like skateboarding to adventure sports like zip lining and kayaking, countless people live in and visit California because they enjoy a thrill. While an element of risk is almost a requirement for these activities, adventurers should also be able to trust that the companies that market these thrills are taking steps to ensure participants are kept safe. People who’ve suffered an extreme sports or adventure sports injury (and families left with a void after a death) should not assume they are without recourse. Our San Francisco recreational injury lawyer can help.

Bay Area Woman Injured in Zip Line Fall

Recently, a vacation adventure turned into a nightmare for a Bay Area woman who was vacationing in Mexico. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Cloverdale mom said she was riding a zip line across a forested gorge in Puerto Vallarta when she suddenly began to fall and landed upside down in a tree. The woman’s husband, fellow travelers, and employees of the zip line company reportedly worked for about thirty minutes before they were able to free her from the branches. She suffered cable burns, substantial bruising, open wounds, and a possible torn ACL in the incident.

From the Playing Fields to Extreme Sports, Part Two: Overcoming Defenses in Recreational Injury Cases

October 9, 2015 | Gregory J. Brod

Last week, we wrote about civil claims for recreational and sports injuries in California, including injuries arising during everything from extreme sports to recreational youth teams. Today, we focus on the two most common defenses in these cases and how our San Francisco/Oakland recreational injury lawyer overcomes them. Specifically, we look at waivers and the doctrine of assumption of risk in the context of sports injuries and other recreational injury cases.

Express Waivers: They Can Be Overcome

Express waivers are often Defendants’ Exhibit One in recreational injury cases. Waivers take many forms, including agreements signed by parents enrolling children in youth sports, releases signed by participants in grueling obstacle course races, and even waivers printed on the back of ski lift tickets. Many people do not even pursue an injury claim because they assume a waiver precludes all legal claim. This is a mistake.

From the Playing Fields to Extreme Sports, Part One: Recreational Injury Claims

October 2, 2015 | Gregory J. Brod

Yes, this is a post about extreme sports and if you’ve arrived at our blog looking for information about extreme sports injuries and California law, you’ll find that. However, this post is also relevant to those who prefer simpler thrills. The California injury law principles we discuss in today’s blog entry apply when a person is injured in any type of recreational activity from cliff-diving to Pee-Wee soccer. Developed over many decades, these principles even apply to newly popular activities like the fast-growing arena of adult obstacle course races. In this first of two parts, our San Francisco sports injury law firm looks at civil claims that can arise as a result of recreational injuries. Next week, we will continue with a look at some of the most common defenses to these claims and how those defenses can be overcome.

Famed Extreme Athlete Dies in Skydiving Accident

A stunt display planned as part of the kickoff to a golf tournament in Squaw Valley took a tragic turn on Monday. The Press Democrat reports that while two other skydivers landed safely on the greens 39-year-old extreme athlete Erik Roner fell hard and crash landed into a tree. Roner’s parachute became tangled, leaving him dangling some 25 to 30 feet above ground. People on the scene scrambled to help, even attempting to form a human ladder to reach Roner, but he passed away before they could succeed. According to a fellow athlete who spoke with the paper, there was no protocol for attempting the type of rescue needed. Given the nature of the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation. Roner was a famed extreme athlete known for BASE jumping and his MTV appearances in addition to his skydiving prowess.