An owner of an ice skating rink has an obligation to keep the ice skating rink safe at all times. This includes general maintenance of equipment and the premises. If equipment and premise standards aren’t met, the ice skating rink owner could be held liable for negligence. That isn’t the case with every incident because of the inherent risks of ice skating.
However, there must be steps taken to fix or prevent dangerous conditions that the owner or management knows about. We aren’t talking about making ice less slippery (that’s impossible). An example of this would be having dangerous and reckless skaters removed from the premises or removing debris from the ice. Just simply slipping on the ice would not be enough for an ice skating rink owner to be held liable.
An owner can also be held liable for an employee’s negligence. However, the employee would have to be on duty for the owner to be held liable. In the case of an ice skating rink employee injuring a skater off duty, the employee would be sued directly.
Then there’s the whole issue of the ice skater causing the injury(ies). An example of a skater being held liable for negligence can be something as simple as pushing someone. On ice, a simple push could have severe or possible life-threatening consequences. Other examples of ice skaters causing injuries can include aggressive or speedy skating and skating against the flow of other skaters. The skater must have intended to cause harm for any case to hold up in court.
A skater who just slips into another person will not necessarily be liable for negligence.
In the end, anyone who ice skates should have an idea of the risks involved such as slipping, falling, or receiving general bumps or bruises. If negligence occurred on behalf of the ice skating rink owner or the owner’s employees, a defendant will have a fair chance to receive damages for the injury.
Don’t let owners or management of any establishment blame you for your own injury. At the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we work tirelessy, aggressively, and relentlessly to help recover the damages if the ice skating rink owner is found to be negligent in protecting his or her patrons. Contact us today for a consultation.