Unless you’re into ice skating, be it speed skating, figure skating, or hockey, most people don’t go ice skating outside of the winter months. When it’s cold and snowy out, it’s the perfect time to visit your local rink and test out your skills on the ice. However, like any other sport, ice skating can be dangerous, and even if you’re careful, you may suffer an ice skating accident.
If you’re injured while ice skating, you may wonder who is liable and what the duty of care is. Liability and negligence can be challenging to navigate, so it’s important to consult with a personal injury attorney if you think you have a case on your hands. That said, here are some factors that go into ice skating accidents and whether or not they may turn into personal injury cases.
Remember: Accidents Happen
It’s important to remember that sometimes, accidents just happen and no one is liable. This is especially true with activities that are inherently dangerous, such as ice skating. Ice is slippery and skating can be tricky to get the hang of. You know when you go onto the ice that you must be careful. Newbie skaters often laugh about falling, ramming into the boards or other people, and clinging onto the wall for dear life.
This is referred to as the “assumption of risk”. This is a legal doctrine under which people who choose to participate in certain activities also choose to accept the dangers that are a normal offshoot of that activity.
However, if you’ve been injured because of something beyond typical behavior at the ice rink, then you may be entitled to compensation.
What If The Ice Skating Accident Could Have Been Prevented?
While accidents do happen, sometimes, they occur as a result of negligence. In this case, they could have been prevented, and you may have a personal injury case on your hands. In order to obtain compensation, you must prove that negligence led to your injury.
Negligence That Can Lead To Ice Skating Accidents
There are a variety of ways in which ice rinks may be negligent and cause ice skating accidents. Some of which are as follows.
#1. Not Maintaining Skates
Rental skates have a reputation for being awful, especially when compared to skates that you purchase for yourself. They’re known for being cheap, dull, and worn. The reason why rentals are so dull is for safety, so that people and children don’t cut themselves on their blades. Students learning how to skate are told that if they’re serious about progressing, they’ll need to invest in their own pair of skates, rather than using rentals.
Rentals are meant just for those giving skating a try, as they function just fine for basic skating for those trying it just for the day or for beginners who are trying to figure out whether or not this is a sport they want to commit to. But as soon as you start wanting to learn tricks and the like, rentals don’t cut it.
However, if your skates broke while you were skating, this can indicate that they weren’t maintained well enough, and you may have an example of negligence on your hands.
#2. The Rink Was Over Capacity
If the rink can only have 200 skaters and there were more skaters than that on the ice when you experienced your accident, the rink was negligent.
#3. There Weren’t Enough Supervisors On Duty
Supervisors help ensure that everyone is safe on the ice. Some public rinks have rules forbidding figure skating and speed skating and the like during public skating sessions in order to create a safer environment. If there weren’t enough supervisors on duty when you were injured, the rink may have been negligent.
#4. A Hazard Existed On The Ice For Longer Than Reasonable
It wouldn’t be reasonable to expect hazards to immediately vanish the instant that they appear. However, if the ice rink does not address hazards and obstructions in a timely manner, this is an example of negligence.
These are but a few of the ways in which an ice rink could potentially be held liable for an injury.
Do You Need A Personal Injury Attorney?
In order to have a personal injury case, you must have evidence proving that the ice rink was negligent and that said negligence led to your ice skating accident and injury. LeBaron & Jensen provides personal injury representation for those who have been injured due to someone else’s negligence. Contact us today to schedule a case consultation.
