Forums >General Running>A mud run is being sued for causing injury. By a bandit.
"Oh jeez" from multiple angles.
=====
"Robert Fecteau III is suing the organizers of the 2010 Filthy 5K Mud Run in Richmond, Va., for negligence after he became partially paralyzed in a mud pit near the finish. Fecteau is seeking $30 million even though he wasn't a registered participant in the event"
http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/05/17/unregistered-runner-gets-paralyzed-sues-race/
I'm also suing the mud run because I just strained my neck from shaking my head in disgust.
Am I doing this right?
Feet first, first time!
No excuses....
not bad for mile 25
It's not that black & white. Read the actual complaint. According to Fecteau, he offered to register in his own name, and the staff told him to use his friend's number; also he alleges that they created not just muddy, but dangerous pits and encouraged people to dive in.
It appears the runner/plaintiff was legit, using a friend's number and ok'd by the race officials, so apparently not a bandit.
I was wondering how long before some RD of one of these 'adventure' races is going to get dinged big time as these events are getting increasingly risky in nature.
so they never asked him to sign the waiver? oooh. that's dumb.
I started my post with ' "Oh jeez" from multiple angles'.
Now you know what I meant by that.
Overall, I think the push to more and more EXTREEEEEEEME stuff is really an aspect of the Jack Ass Wipeout generation. It isn't going to end well.
Having said that... when I was in high school and college, I worked as a lifeguard at two big water parks (White Water and Wet n Wild). This is not a community park with a slide... this is a theme park with "rides" that happen to be water attractions. That said, they are still WATER attractions. With things like 8 foot deep wave pools. Unlike the community pool where a guard might make one super crazy save a summer, we made the super crazy ones weekly... the less crazy ones daily. And two or three times a summer, it was the three whistle blast all hands on deck CPR adventure.
At least half the time, it involved someone who absolutely could not swim. At all. Ever. And had on no flotation device. But decided it was ok to jump into 8 feet of water or something with a major current. ??? Best we could figure is that they really thought it was "just" an amusement park and because they had paid 15 bucks, it was safe. And it WAS safe. As safe as you can make it. But it is still 8 feet of water.
I don't care what encouragement I receive, who the fuck dives into muddy pit? That right there is dumbass dumbitry. (and obvious dumbass behavior by the organizers. For sure. Then again, in my opinion, these events are goofy. So that opinion colors everything else I think about it)
Unless the law is very different in Virginia (which it might be), it wouldn't necessarily matter, since he alleges gross negligence and intentional misconduct. Gross negligence and intentional conduct waivers are generally ineffective. You can waive ordinary negligence, you can assume the inherent risk of an activity. But if an organization's employee yells at you to "Dive!" and you dive, their liability will not depend on what you signed in advance (although I bet they wish he'd signed the arbitration clause).
Best Present Ever
Exactly what Robert said -- the guy was dumb, the organizers sound like they were dumb, and the whole concept is just silly. But it's really too bad for the guy.
Really bizarre tangent: I often miss spelling and grammar weirdisms when writing that I will catch when presented in another form. So I generally "print preview" documents when I proof them. Or send really important emails to myself first before sending them to The Whoever. Because when I receive it, it looks juuuust different enough that I catch stuff I previously missed. Dunno why that is.
But I got quoted above. And immediately I see a left-out word.
Is ok.
(hee)
Meawhile the ad on the right side of this page for me currently shows a mud run with this slogan...
Mud. Fire. Beer. Music. Glory!
Hey, what could go wrong?
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Robert Fecteau III
Guys with roman numerals after their names are invariably douchebags. It's true.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
Heh.
Officially I happen to be Eugenio VIII.
It is still true, alas.
Heh. Officially I happen to be Eugenio VIII. It is still true, alas.
But you don't use your numbers...I think that's the difference. Guys who use Jr. aren't generally douchey (I'm pretty fond of Robert Downey, Jr.), but if they openly use II or III or IV (etc.), then it always seems like an asshole red flag.
Fecteau III
Trifecteau?
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.