Question

Read the following case regarding United States law.
James Johnson was injured on the property of Juniper Ski Lodge when he was thrown from a chair lift he was riding to the top of the mountain. His intention was to snow-shoe down a walking trail on the mountain. There is evidence that the operator of the chair lift was distracted while he was operating it. All lift tickets issued by Juniper Ski Lodge state that the lodge will not be liable for any injuries sustained by guests of the resort.
Answer the following questions.
A) What legal issues are raised by the above case?
B) Present the legal arguments for Johnson. What would Johnson have to prove to be successful in court? What about for Juniper Ski Lodge?
C) Is Johnson or Juniper more likely to win and why?

Answer 1

A) From the above case, it can be understood that the chair lift was distracted while James was on it operating. So, it can be said that there is a raise of negligence issue in the case.

B) The legal liability of rides and similar things always vary according to the cases as there are lots of things which are needed to be understood such as negligence, and various liability such as service liability, premises liability, etc. Here, Juniper Ski Lodge is held responsible for James's injury ad they showed negligence, service and premise liability. But, the argument comes to the point when it is said that they already stated in their ticket itself that they would not be held liable for any injuries.

So, here, James Johnson needs to prove the sky Lodge's negligence towards their customers in their own premises. This would atleast make them partially responsible for the injury, if not fully.

On the other hand, Juniper Sky lodge needs to prove that James Johnson has willingly taken the risk as it was clearly mentioned in their lift ticket that they wouldn't be responsible for any injuries occurred to people.

C) In my opinion, James Johnson is more likely to win the case as he has proved the negligence of Juniper Sky lodge and it is the basic duty of the lodge to pay attention to the safety of the people who comes there.

Hope this helps :)

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