Despite signing the liability waiver at the track, someone has pursued a lawsuit against a track day host....
At a motorcycle track day, a rider ran off the track at Laguna Seca and his trajectory took him into a small sandbag — one of many placed around the track by track staff to direct rain runoff. The rider crashed violently, breaking his leg.
The sandbag is one of the central issues of the lawsuit, which alleges gross negligence on the part of track day host.
In the case of gross negligence, California law allows someone to sue even though they may have signed a liability waiver. Iin the opinion of the rider and his lawyers, the presence of the sandbag constituted gross negligence.
The judge's assessment of "gross negligence" hinges on a clause buried deep in the track day host's contract with Laguna Seca, which said that the tack day host had the right to examine the track before using it. So while the judge ruled that the placement of the sandbag itself was not grossly negligent, the track day host may have been negligent in failing to inspect the track and notice the sandbag; it could have either had the sandbag moved or, perhaps, mentioned it in the riders’ meeting.
The trial is set for May, 2018.
The link below has video of the accident from a rear facing camera on one of the motorcycles ahead of the rider who crashed. Watch the video and decide for yourself.
Read all of the details here:
Could This Lawsuit Affect Track Days and Club Racing?
Threaded Mode
