C
C.F. Reynolds
Guest
I recently found out that (in the State of California), you can be charged with driving under the
influence for using over-the-counter medication. Even if you were unaware that the medication caused
any impairment! I mention this because it is easy to find yourself on the wrong side of a law suit,
especially if someone suspects that you have deep pockets. And legal judgments are made against
people who are not morally or ethically at fault all the time.
Here's a scenario for you. Your about to start a century ride with some friends. You've got a killer
sinus headache. Your buddy offers some over-the-counter meds. You ask, "will it make me drowsy?" He
says, "It's never bothered me." So you take it. Later, you plow into a pile-up that occurred when
another rider wiped out going around a sharp curve. One of the riders that you hit suffers a severe
back injury with partial paralysis to one leg. His friend later tells him that he saw you take some
sort of medication just before the ride. You may never have felt better in your life at the time of
the accident. But an investigation ensues. The guys lawyer takes the time to read the medications
packaging, and the label says "May cause drowsiness". One thing leads to another, and you find
yourself on the wrong end of a civil prosecution for negligence or some kind of criminal
endangerment. Or how about a felony DUI charge (it's a felony in California, if someone gets hurt).
What if you were recovering from the flu. And someone heard you say that you were feeling dizzy
before the ride. You don't have to actually be impaired in any way! Couldn't a crafty attorney make
an argument that you were impaired by your illness at the time of the accident? Maybe you were
feeling dizzy. Or your eyes began to water. Or you were not paying proper attention to the road.
What if you were overheard saying that you had been having problems with your front brake just
before the ride? Once a lawsuit is filed, it's up to you to defend yourself. Most people would
rather fork over $5000.00 than to take on a civil case in court. After all, when it comes to court
cases, 5 grand is pretty cheap these days.
Will this happen on your next ride? Probably not. Would an attorney be successful with cases like
these? It's anyone's guess. After all, if you spill your own coffee on your own lap, it can be worth
millions. Despite the fact that EVERYBODY knows that coffee is SUPPOSED to be served HOT. But, in
the litigious society in which we live, you can bet that the kinds of questions that are being asked
here will be addressed in the courts sooner or later. Money makes people do crazy things.
It's as simple as 1,2,3,4,5,6.
1. There's an accident.
2. Someone gets hurt and blames you.
3. The injured party goes to see a lawyer, and gets told how deserving they are of compensation.
4. The injured party is told that they can get a lot of money out of the deal.
5. The case gets filed with the courts for 10K+ in damages and mental anguish.
6. You fork out a lump of cash to get out from under the whole thing.
What can you do about it? Hope that it never happens to you. And try not to think about it.
Cliff
"S. Anderson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yep, that's it exactly. Unless you can prove malicious intent or recklessness, you really can't
> collect. The followers in the pace line
may
> have thought the braking was too early and too hard, but the lead rider probably honestly believed
> he was doing the right thing. And even if he didn't, it would be very hard to prove otherwise.
> Similarly in mountaineering, if you're a paid guide and you rope your clients together
on
> a glacier at 5' intervals and all perish in a crevasse except the guide,
you
> may be liable since your method of roping up was not accepted practice.
If
> you have no guide, you all have equal experience and you decide that 5' intervals is a good
> method, you have no case.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Scott..
> --
> Scott Anderson
>
>
> "Jens Kurt Heycke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > This issue came up on the Princeton Univ. cycling club a number of years ago. Rider 1 was a
> > complete novice, who "scare-braked", causing several riders to go down, trashing Rider 3's bike
> > (a pricy colnago, I think). Rider 3, a friend of mine, investigated getting compensation through
> > Rider 1, the team coach, and the law, and get nowhere with any of them. I think the judgement on
> > all parts was that riding in a paceline is kinda like trusting a
> belayer
> > when you rock climb. You've chosen to throw normal safety precautions out the window, in favor
> > of completely trusting another individual. If
> that
> > individual makes an error, it's just tough cookies for you for trusting them.
> >
> > BRW. Rider 1 subsequently left the club, and thereafter, the club
applied
> > extreme moral suasion to anyone who rode erratically in the pace line.
> >
> > --Jens
> >
>
influence for using over-the-counter medication. Even if you were unaware that the medication caused
any impairment! I mention this because it is easy to find yourself on the wrong side of a law suit,
especially if someone suspects that you have deep pockets. And legal judgments are made against
people who are not morally or ethically at fault all the time.
Here's a scenario for you. Your about to start a century ride with some friends. You've got a killer
sinus headache. Your buddy offers some over-the-counter meds. You ask, "will it make me drowsy?" He
says, "It's never bothered me." So you take it. Later, you plow into a pile-up that occurred when
another rider wiped out going around a sharp curve. One of the riders that you hit suffers a severe
back injury with partial paralysis to one leg. His friend later tells him that he saw you take some
sort of medication just before the ride. You may never have felt better in your life at the time of
the accident. But an investigation ensues. The guys lawyer takes the time to read the medications
packaging, and the label says "May cause drowsiness". One thing leads to another, and you find
yourself on the wrong end of a civil prosecution for negligence or some kind of criminal
endangerment. Or how about a felony DUI charge (it's a felony in California, if someone gets hurt).
What if you were recovering from the flu. And someone heard you say that you were feeling dizzy
before the ride. You don't have to actually be impaired in any way! Couldn't a crafty attorney make
an argument that you were impaired by your illness at the time of the accident? Maybe you were
feeling dizzy. Or your eyes began to water. Or you were not paying proper attention to the road.
What if you were overheard saying that you had been having problems with your front brake just
before the ride? Once a lawsuit is filed, it's up to you to defend yourself. Most people would
rather fork over $5000.00 than to take on a civil case in court. After all, when it comes to court
cases, 5 grand is pretty cheap these days.
Will this happen on your next ride? Probably not. Would an attorney be successful with cases like
these? It's anyone's guess. After all, if you spill your own coffee on your own lap, it can be worth
millions. Despite the fact that EVERYBODY knows that coffee is SUPPOSED to be served HOT. But, in
the litigious society in which we live, you can bet that the kinds of questions that are being asked
here will be addressed in the courts sooner or later. Money makes people do crazy things.
It's as simple as 1,2,3,4,5,6.
1. There's an accident.
2. Someone gets hurt and blames you.
3. The injured party goes to see a lawyer, and gets told how deserving they are of compensation.
4. The injured party is told that they can get a lot of money out of the deal.
5. The case gets filed with the courts for 10K+ in damages and mental anguish.
6. You fork out a lump of cash to get out from under the whole thing.
What can you do about it? Hope that it never happens to you. And try not to think about it.
Cliff
"S. Anderson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yep, that's it exactly. Unless you can prove malicious intent or recklessness, you really can't
> collect. The followers in the pace line
may
> have thought the braking was too early and too hard, but the lead rider probably honestly believed
> he was doing the right thing. And even if he didn't, it would be very hard to prove otherwise.
> Similarly in mountaineering, if you're a paid guide and you rope your clients together
on
> a glacier at 5' intervals and all perish in a crevasse except the guide,
you
> may be liable since your method of roping up was not accepted practice.
If
> you have no guide, you all have equal experience and you decide that 5' intervals is a good
> method, you have no case.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Scott..
> --
> Scott Anderson
>
>
> "Jens Kurt Heycke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > This issue came up on the Princeton Univ. cycling club a number of years ago. Rider 1 was a
> > complete novice, who "scare-braked", causing several riders to go down, trashing Rider 3's bike
> > (a pricy colnago, I think). Rider 3, a friend of mine, investigated getting compensation through
> > Rider 1, the team coach, and the law, and get nowhere with any of them. I think the judgement on
> > all parts was that riding in a paceline is kinda like trusting a
> belayer
> > when you rock climb. You've chosen to throw normal safety precautions out the window, in favor
> > of completely trusting another individual. If
> that
> > individual makes an error, it's just tough cookies for you for trusting them.
> >
> > BRW. Rider 1 subsequently left the club, and thereafter, the club
applied
> > extreme moral suasion to anyone who rode erratically in the pace line.
> >
> > --Jens
> >
>
.
