If you were recently injured while doing an activity that has some inherent risks, can another party nonetheless be responsible for your personal injuries? For example, if you were attending a baseball game and got hit with a foul ball, is the stadium responsible for your injuries, or did you impliedly assume the risk of potentially being hit with a baseball when you decided to attend the game and sit in the stands? Or, for instance, if you were on a vacation and decided to go skydiving, could the ziplining company be responsible for injuries you sustained even though you were informed of possible injury risks and confirmed that you wanted to participate in the activity regardless?
These are the types of questions that can arise concerning assumption of the risk. If you sustained injuries and have concerns about who may be liable for your injuries, our Santa Fe personal injury attorneys can speak with you today about your case.
What is Assumption of the Risk?
Assumption of the risk started as an affirmative defense for defendants in personal injury claims who would raise the issue in order to avoid liability or to reduce liability. As the Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) explains, “potential plaintiffs sometimes take the risk of injury onto themselves and absolve potential defendants from any liability.” In most jurisdictions across the country, however, assumption of the risk is no longer a clear affirmative defense since it “has been subsumed by contributory and comparative negligence,” according to the LII.
Indeed, New Mexico case law suggests that courts do not recognize assumption of the risk as a complete defense given New Mexico’s comparative negligence law. In cases where a plaintiff did assume some type of risk, New Mexico’s pure comparative negligence rule means that a plaintiff’s damages award may be reduced by a percentage when that plaintiff did assume some risk for the injury she or he sustained.
You Cannot Assume the Risk Associated With Negligence
Even if you may have assumed the risk of the possibility of an injury in certain circumstances, you cannot assume the risk or be asked to waive your right to file a claim if you get injured because of another party’s negligence.
For example, if you are at a hardware store and using a saw available to customers to cut pieces of wood or piping, and the saw was not properly maintained by the store and, as a result, dislodges from the tool while you are using it to cause a serious injury, you cannot assume that type of risk. Similarly, for instance, if you are at a ziplining facility and asked to sign a waiver, you cannot waive your right to file a negligence claim against the facility if you are injured because the facility knew the zipline was damaged but failed to repair it in order to save costs, and the zipline broke while you or a family member was using it.
Contact a Santa Fe Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you have questions about the relationship between contributory fault and assumption of the risk, one of our experienced personal injury attorneys in Santa Fe can speak with you today. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us to learn more about how we can assist you. Contact Slate Stern Law for more information.