A woman injured in a roller-skating mishap did not forfeit her right to claim that a rink was run negligently solely because of the potentially hazardous nature of skating, Northern District Judge David Hurd has ruled. He said that while people generally do not have legal recourse if injured in recreational sporting events where a danger is "known, apparent, or reasonably foreseeable," they can still sustain an action for liability in some circumstances.
His Aug. 15 ruling in Diaz v. High Rollers Recreational Center, 6:11-cv-838, rejected the argument by the operators of an Amsterdam rink that plaintiff Brenda Diaz is precluded from bringing suit because of the risky nature of skating and the obvious dangers posed by other skaters. Diaz broke her ankle in July 2010 when she said a young male skater who others had seen skating too fast and weaving among the slower-moving skaters knocked her over from behind. The rink said it had guides on hand to monitor the skaters and had not seen a youth skating dangerously.
