Law & Liability Issues in Recreation and Parks The Control Test: No Control, No Liability
OBJECTIVES:
After reading the required materials and answering the review questions, the student should be able to:
•Define the role of the control test in determining negligence liability.
• Identify the factors which might impose liability on the sponsor of an athletic event or recreational activity.
•Describe the relationship between legal responsibility and custody in determining negligence liability.
REQUIRED READING
UNDERSTANDING LIABILITY RISKS IN SPORTS & RECREATION PROGRAMS
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. As described in the article "UNDERSTANDING LIABILITY RISKS IN SPORTS & RECREATION PROGRAMS," what is required to impose personal injury liability for negligence?
2. As implied in Vogel v. West Mountain Corp., when will the corporate sponsor of an athletic event or recreational activity be liable for a participant's injury?
3. According to Gehling v. St. George's University School of Medicine, Ltd. what degree of control is necessary to impose negligence liability, beyond mere knowledge of a athletic event or recreational activity? (Hint: Find, quote and explain the boldfaced material from the article which answers this question.)
4. With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, and your knowledge of the control test, what could the YMCA and its administrators have done differently to avoid legal responsibility for the injury in Thornhill v. Deka-Di Riding Stables?