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Wet Field is an Inherent Risk of Sporting Activities. In other News, Water is Wet
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Sporting and athletic activities by nature have elements of risk in them. This can include the field the game is being played on. If it is something known to be an inherent risk in the game, this is not negligence; this is just an accepted part of the game. This includes wet fields, regardless of if they were caused by rain or water balloons, and loose pebbles on the field.
In G. v Uniondale School District (nycourts.gov), an eighth grader was injured while playing a game of pick-up soccer at a school event. The child and his father alleged the child was injured when he slipped on the field due to it being wet from the prior day’s rain as well as water balloons being thrown on it along with some loose pebbles. While the School District moved for summary judgment, arguing the child assumed the risk of playing on this field, the lower court denied the motion, apparently finding a question of fact of if these factors constituted concealed or unreasonably increased risks and if the school staff at the event adequately supervised the field’s usage.
The Second Department disagreed. They rightly found that tripping due to playing on a wet field with loose pebbles is just the nature of playing on an outdoor field. They found the reason for the wetness on the field, be it the rain or water balloons, was irrelevant, and that simply allowing the students to play on it did not constitute negligence. As such, they overturned the denial the summary judgment motion and granted it to the school district, finding that ruling otherwise would “effectively prohibit schools from utilizing outdoor playing fields.”
The moral of the story: you knowingly play on a wet field, you’re probably gonna slip… And that’s on you.
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