Go-kart Gloom

Q: At a racing track, I was a passenger in a two-seat go-kart.  F was driving.  During the first lap of the race, I told him that he was driving too fast and that the other racers were speeding as well.  F shot back, “Nellie, I can’t pull over.”

A few minutes into the race, our go-kart was bumped by another one.  After the first bump, I yelled and made eye contact with the staff to communicate that the go-karts were going too fast.  A few minutes later, our go-kart was bumped again, and I felt pain throughout my body.  I told F that I needed to get off, but he finished the race.

A: The track will argue that you ‘assumed the risk’ by participating in this go-kart race.  In certain types of athletic or recreational activities, a plaintiff who freely accepts a known risk commensurately negates any duty on the part of the defendant to safeguard him or her from that risk.  The track will argue that the apparent or reasonably foreseeable risks inherent in go-karting include the risk that vehicles racing around the track may collide with or bump into other go-karts.

Your attorney will reply that a ‘known risk’ does not include a risk resulting from the reckless or intentional conduct of others, or a risk that is concealed or unreasonably enhanced.  Your attorney will hope to have evidence that the track was not typical (e.g. it was abnormally slick) or that the defendants had created an enhanced risk (e.g. by failing to monitor the track).

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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