The Sporting Life

Word that a lawsuit had been filed earlier this week in the aftermath of and incident in which three spectators were injured at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida got us thinking about sports and the law in general. Obviously the vehicle accident lawyer who took the NASCAR case is thinking about the specific legalities that can make the case for the victims, even as representatives of the racetrack will try and argue that the waiver disclaiming responsibility on the back of the ticket absolves them of all responsibility.

Still, there are questions beyond the interesting matter of how much responsibility the owner of a sports venue has for the safety of guests, even when the sport in question carries a small but definite inherent risk for viewers. As an attorney in Los Angeles, we don't hear about NASCAR every day, but football is the nation's sport.

As most readers will probably know, doctors, sports observers, and athletes, as well as personally injury lawyers, have been conducting a very forthright discussion of the dangers to athletes inherent in the game of football in particular. With evidence mounting that the repeated concussions football players suffer can have seriously destructive consequences in regards to both the physical and mental health of athletes, many people are wondering if the sport should even be allowed to continue without truly major alterations to the way the game is played on the professional, collegiate, and high school level.

Of course, as with the Daytona case, the people behind the big business of sports will have to balance the popularity of their current way of doing things against the costs they will be forced to pay out to compensate the victims. In the meantime, lawyers like everyone here at the Law Offices of Burg and Brock will be watching very carefully.