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Seasons of Anxiety: More Stories and Facts
JANUARY brings a new year and new-fallen snow. But across America, once popular sledding hills are now deserted—off-limits for fear of an accident and a lawsuit.
Related developments:
Warren County, NJ, begins enforcing a decade-old ban on sledding in county parks after the family of a boy who broke his leg sued, settling for $150,000. Camden and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey also ban sledding in their parks and police begin enforcing the bans, handing out warnings and disorderly conduct fines if people refuse to move on.
In Flagstaff, AZ, officials ban sledding on all public property and fence off popular sledding areas.
Greenwich, CT, considers a ban on sledding and ice skating after losing $6 million in a lawsuit over injuries suffered by a local urologist who was sledding with his son. The town’s insurance increases 25%, and its deductible doubles to $1 million. Faced with exasperated residents, Greenwich officials decline to pass the ban.
The Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico ends its 30-year tradition of “shovel racing” due to liability concerns. Shovel racing—a sport where participants race down a mountain sitting on the blade of a shovel—was created at the ski resort in the 1970s.
Across New England, private golf courses are made off-limits to sledders, including Far Corner Golf Course in Boxford, MA; Lakeview Golf Club in Wenham, MA; Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, MA; Merrimack Golf Course in Methuen, MA; Plymouth County Club in MA; North Andover Country Club in MA; Windham Country Club in Windham, NH; and Laconia Country Club in Laconia, NH—Hornell Country Club in North Hornell, NY is as well. Sledding areas are fenced off and posted with no trespassing signs, enforced by police in some cases.
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“I think sledding is great. Childhood is about playing, learning about yourself, and exploring your environment. I think sledding is part of that.” (Robert D. Sage, American Academy of Pediatrics)
“We’ll call police if we see people on sleds in that area now.” (Kim Peterson, spokesperson for Flagstaff, AZ, talking about a popular sledding hill)
“We welcome kids here, but sledding is out of the question.” (Tom Flynn, manager, Far Corner Gold Course) |
Winter weather continues in FEBRUARY, as well as legal fear.
Related developments:
A bicyclist in Geneva, IL, who took it upon himself to plow a local bike trail, is asked by county officials to stop the public-spirited act. “If a person falls,” they say, “you are more liable than if you had never plowed at all.”
Meanwhile,
In Colorado, ski resort operators are afraid to post warning signs about obstacles. The reason? “[O]nce they do, those objects are no longer considered inherent risks and could be grounds for a lawsuit.”
In Conway, NH, a teenager sues Cranmore Mountain Ski Resort after he is injured while snowblading. New Hampshire law generally protects ski areas from lawsuits filed by injured skiers and snowboarders, but the plaintiff says the law does not specifically apply to snowbladers.
An aspiring model sues another teenager and her parents after the two collide on a New Hampshire ski slope, resulting in injuries that the potential model says “derailed her modeling career.” After two years of litigation, a jury finds the plaintiff 95% responsible for the collision.
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“Unfortunately, the times we are in allow for a much more litigious environment than common sense would dictate.” (Geneva, IL, spokesperson asking local bicyclist to stop plowing a bike path)
“I think it was a matter of wrong place, wrong time.” (John Sheehan, jury foreman in ski-collision lawsuit, noting his “surprise[] that a skiing accident had evolved into a federal case”)
“There’s no assumed safety. It’s a mountain. It’s not like going to a mini-golf course. You’re going to a mountain to slide around with sticks on.” (Trevor Lenard, Colorado resident and self-described ski bum) |
MARCH brings the last gasp of winter, St. Patrick’s Day festivities, and Girl Scout Cookies. But the festivities—and even the cookies—cannot come without a dose of legal fear.
Related developments:
Outside San Diego, CA, Girl Scout camps no longer allow the children to climb trees because of legal fear. A senior Girl Scout in Broward, FL, who wants to teach swim classes to community children as part of her capstone service project, has a hard time finding a pool willing to host the children due to liability issues. And in Downingtown, PA, it gets harder to sell Girl Scout cookies: “Our local Wawa stores said that they couldn’t let the girls set up their booth anymore, because of liability issues,” a parent explains.
APRIL brings warm weather that welcomes children to playgrounds across America. But in many places, the playgrounds have changed. “[T]he swings don’t reach the sky as they once did.,” relates one reporter. “Slides … have changed in height and slope. Teeter-totters are gone.”
Related developments:
In Valparaiso, IN, the school district is sued after a 6-year-old breaks his femur while playing on a slide; the suit says he was allowed to “play on a wet slide” and that the school “did not provide proper supervision.”
In Green River, WY, the parents of a 7-year-old who fell off a slide on Washington Elementary’s playground, suffering a fractured skull, sue the school district for $25,000.
Broward County, FL, schools pay $561,000 to settle 189 claims over five years for playground accidents. Signs go up at all 137 of the district’s elementary schools advising children not to play without adult supervision, not to use equipment “unless designed for your age group,” and not to run while on the playground. Old equipment is replaced by “bright, multi-use contraptions … lower to the ground than their predecessors, coated with plastic and engineered for safety,” and boring to all but the youngest children.
A popular 25-foot moon rocket is removed for two years from Rockbrook Park in Omaha, NE; it is returned after the city removes the slide, “trim[s] seven feet of height … and rig[s] it so kids can’t climb inside.” Brackett Park in South Minneapolis, MN, also loses its popular moon rocket; it may be returned as artwork.
The National Parent Teacher Association advises local PTAs against buying playground equipment for schools due to their potential liability.
And while playgrounds become more boring, traditional games like tag and dodgeball are banned, along with “any game involving bodily contact,” in schools across the Sacramento, CA, region. No contact rules prohibit not only tackling and blocking during football games, but also prevent students from pushing each other on swings.
Meanwhile,
A new report from the Institute of Medicine says we must “increase [children’s] opportunities for frequent, more intensive and engaging physical activity during and after school,” as part of a national effort to combat “an alarming rise in childhood obesity.” Over the past three decades, the rate of childhood obesity has “more than doubled for preschool children aged 2 to 5 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6 to 11 years. At present, approximately nine million children over 6 years of age are considered obese. … For children born in the United States in 2000, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with diabetes at some point in their lives is estimated at 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls if obesity rates level off.”
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“We could do a lot more if we didn’t have to watch our back every single second. We sometimes get a letter from the attorney before we even get an accident report from the school.” (Jerry Graziose, safety director for Broward County, FL, elementary school playgrounds)
“To say ‘no running’ on the playground seems crazy. But your feelings change when you’re in a closed-door meeting with lawyers.” (Robin Bartleman, Broward County (FL) School Board member)
“Play is one of children’s chief vehicles for development. Right now it looks like we’re developing a nation of wimps.” (Joe Frost, emeritus professor and director of the University of Texas’ Play and Playgrounds Research Project, commenting on new playground equipment)
“There are liability issues with lots of things. I don’t think you can live your life worrying about that. We have ice cream socials sponsored by PTA, Halloween parties, and there are always liability issues. Knock wood, we haven’t had anybody sue, but you have to decide what’s important, and the kids have to have a safe place to play.” (Debbie Gatti, North Rockland (NY) PTA Council president discussing the National PTA’s advice not to purchase playground equipment for schools)
“Children ages 8 to 10 spend an average of 6 hours a day watching television, playing video games and using computers. … And that’s during the school year. …
Since 1995, the portion of children ages 7 to 11 who swim, fish or play touch football has declined by about a third. … In 1995, 68% of children ages 7 to 11 rode a bike at least six times a year. Last year, only 47% did. The sale of children’s bikes fell from 12.4 million in 2000 to 9.8 million in 2004, a 21% decline. … Little league participation has fallen to 2.1 million children, down 14% from its peak in 1997. But overall baseball playing—pick-up games, catch, pickle—has declined twice as fast.” (Dennis Cauchon, reporter, USA Today) |
MAY marks the beginning of the summer wedding season, but few big events—no matter how special—can go off without liability concerns.
Related developments:
A research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh decides to hold her wedding reception at J. Verno Studios in South Pittsburgh. The studio requires wedding parties to carry $1 million in liability coverage. In Southern California, “about 25 percent of higher-end reception sites now require liability insurance.” An insurer that has sold wedding insurance policies for 15 years tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette his company is “increasingly … insuring bar mitzvahs, anniversary and other large-scale private parties.”
Meanwhile,
In San Francisco, CA, students at Farragut Elementary School learn a Congolese dance routine for the city’s Carnival parade. But the foundation which coordinates the children’s participation in the event is left scrambling for funds to cover “buses, costumes and other items” after the school district decides to no longer offer the foundation financial support due to liability concerns.
And,
In Murfreesboro, TN, the fear of a lawsuit causes the police to reconsider their long-standing courtesy of escorting funeral processions. The police point to a 1993 lawsuit filed against the city of Chattanooga, TN, after “a driver in a [police-escorted] funeral procession was hit by another car”; the city was found “partially liable because police had assumed responsibility for the procession.”
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“[I]t’s almost getting to be a standard for me to suggest, ‘How do you feel about getting your own insurance?’.” (Joy Sato, director of special events at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, who says she “rarely mentioned” wedding insurance in the past) |
In JUNE, schools let out and summer fun begins. Kids will suffer skinned knees and bruised elbows; adults will strain muscles and backs. A few will even break bones and go to the emergency room. Remember when an accident was just an accident?
Related developments:
A “regular” at the Mt. Laurel (PA) Pool cuts his foot on a broken drainage gate, refuses an offer from the pool operator to pay his lost wages, and instead sues for $100,000—$50,000 for his pain and suffering and $50,000 for his wife’s loss of “companionship.” When the popular pool, run by a non-profit foundation, is closed because of the lawsuit, the man expresses dismay at being “known as the guy who forced the pool to close.”
The Washington Post counts the number of area three-meter diving boards that have survived the “exponential increases in insurance rates and liability exposure.” In Montgomery County, MD, four of 82 community pools still have a high dive. In the Northern Virginia Swim League, six of 100 still have them.
The Carlsbad (CA) Swim Complex starts a new Springboard Diving Program for children, responding to public demand after many area pools “removed their diving boards” or stopped offering diving programs because of liability concerns.
The Maplewood Pool in New Jersey is dubbed “the rule pool” for its laundry list of do’s and don’ts, including “No jumping off the high dive …. No jumping into the main pool. No diving into the main pool. No exiting except by the ladders. No sitting on three sides of the main pool, no dangling your feet near the diving board.”
Meanwhile,
A Ravenna, OH, woman is hit in the eye by a golf ball while standing “in the middle of a fairway” at Kent State (OH) University’s golf course; she sues the person who hit the ball for $100,000.
The city of Cadillac, MI, recommends but does not require the use of helmets and protective pads at its new skate park; “mandatory helmet use would make the city responsible for enforcement and increase its liability.” In the Milwaukee, WI, area, proposals for new skate parks falter in many communities “out of liability concerns and a residual wariness that hangs over the sport.”
At Harrison Skateboard Park in Berkeley, CA, police are handing out $100 fines for skaters who do not wear helmets and pads in accordance with local and state law. According to one attorney, “‘If you have supervision of the skatepark and someone is hurt you can make the argument that [the attendants] weren’t fulfilling duty.’” In any case, attendance at the city skatepark has declined sharply because of the potential fines. “[S]katers are once again skating in the street or at areas less traveled by police.”
City officials in Belair, FL, remove rope swings from a cul-de-sac that were “much loved by two generations of neighborhood children.” Parents protest, but the city council struggles to find “a solution that would protect the city from liability should a child be injured while playing in the cul-de-sac.”
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“Insurers look at trends, and the trend shows that an accident in this day and age will inevitably bring a lawsuit.” (P.J. Crowley, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, discussing the disappearance of high dives)
“You can’t put your finger on any one thing, but having so many diving boards taken out around the country has had a serious impact on our sport, no question about it.” (Ron O’Brien, U.S.A. Diving’s national technical director)
“It gives them a lot of confidence.” “These guys love it. I can’t get them out of the water.” (Instructors in the youth Springboard Diving Program at Carlsbad (CA) Swim Complex talking about their students) |
It’s JULY. But will there be fireworks on the Fourth?
Related developments:
Fireworks displays are cancelled or threatened with cancellation in places such as Hinesburg, VT; Auburn, MA; and Fort Wayne, IN. In all cases, liability concerns are cited, along with financial and safety concerns.
Meanwhile,
In Long Beach Township, NJ, officials decline to install signs warning people of the dangers of rip currents. “According to the law, the town does not have to warn people about natural conditions, and if Long Beach put up a sign and a jury found its warnings to be inadequate, the town could possibly be found liable for a drowning or injury. Having no signs … reduces the risk of being sued.”
Spencer Lake in Spencer, NY, once “a popular resort and recreation area, open to swimming, canoeing, camping and fishing,” is closed to the public by its owner, citing liability concerns. In Kalamazoo, MI, city officials want to ban swimming at the Woods Lake Park beach because of liability concerns; public opposition succeeds in stopping the closure.
Agritourism ventures, which from Indiana to Los Angeles, CA, provide “an authentic farm experience to people hungry to reconnect with their rural roots,” face “looming concerns about liability and insurance.”
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“Countless communities have virtually outlawed unstructured outdoor nature play, often because of the threat of lawsuits.” (Author Richard Louv, who says America’s children suffer from a “nature deficit,” leading to a “steady erosion of mental, physical and spiritual health”)
“A lot more people would do tourist-related businesses if they weren’t afraid of losing everything they have.” (Sue Selman, owner and operator of a Buffalo, OK, tourist ranch) |
In AUGUST, the baseball season heats up as teams begin a final push for the playoffs. But for baseball fans and players across the country, enjoyment of America’s pastime is threatened by a rash of lawsuits.
Related developments:
A fan hit in the eye while attending a New York Yankees game sues the team for $5 million.
A Boston Red Sox fan hit by a foul ball at Fenway Park sues the team for $486,909.
In Bettendorf, IA, the mother of a girl hit by a bat while on a field trip to a minor league game sues the trip sponsors, the city, the player who lost his grip on the bat, and his team.
A man hit at a minor league game in Dunedin, FL, sues both teams, the park operator, the city of Dunedin, and the Florida State League.
A fan attending a Newark (NJ) Bears minor league game sues in a case that reaches the New Jersey Supreme Court. Before the court, defense attorneys plead that holding teams liable for foul balls will have an impact from Little League to the pros.
A California Little League organization is sued by the parents of a child hit by a wild pitch.
In a slow-pitch softball game for men over 35, a Garden City, NJ, man slides into home base, accidentally breaking the catcher’s leg. The catcher sues. After two and a half years of litigation, a jury rules that the collision was not intentional.
A popular softball tournament in Page, AZ, is cancelled in 2003 after a former participant who was injured while sliding into third base sued the city. The plaintiff later made a motion to add the game’s umpire as a defendant.
In Norwalk, CT, a man sues the city after he slips and falls during a softball game, alleging that the city “should have cleaned the water and mud that had accumulated on the field or called the game because of the weather.”
In San Francisco, CA, city officials are reluctant to involve volunteers in fixing the “lousy state of many softball fields in the city.” What happens, they ask, “if someone throws out their back patching the gopher holes in the outfield and decides to sue the city?”
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“[A] central feature of the game is that batters will forcefully hit balls that may go astray from their intended direction.” (Massachusetts appeals court on the foul ball lawsuit against the Boston Red Sox)
“If the vendor or owner wanted to protect himself completely, yes [they would have to install protective netting over every seat].” (Plaintiff’s attorney in the foul ball lawsuit against the Newark (NJ) Bears)
“If we lose this case, my statement to everyone would be don’t play sports in this country.” (Attorney for a man who was sued by a catcher after sliding into home base) |
SEPTEMBER: With the scent of freshly sharpened pencils in the air, a new school year begins. And to kick off the new semester, the National Federation of State High School Associations recommends that coaches carry $3 million in liability insurance—three times the amount provided by their schools—just in case. They have reason to be cautious.
Related developments:
In Eastside, WA, three high school coaches are dismissed after parents sued them for keeping their kids on the bench.
In Newport Beach, CA, a baseball coach is sued by a father who claims he hurt his son’s chances at a college scholarship by allegedly forcing him to throw too many pitches and by making “derogatory comments about [his] pitching ability to potential college coaches.” The school district spends $17,000 on the coach’s defense. The father then sues the local newspaper for its coverage of the suit. After both lawsuits are dismissed, the coach sues the father for $1 million for damaging his reputation.
In Houston, TX, an athlete sues both his baseball and football coaches for benching him after he claimed his football coach’s losing record cost him a scholarship.
In Levittown, PA, a softball player sues her coach for teaching her an illegal pitching move, allegedly hurting her scholarship prospects.
In Union City, CA, a mother sues the school district after her son is moved to junior varsity.
In Omaha, NE, a soccer coach resigns after being threatened with a lawsuit by parents who were bringing stopwatches to games to monitor their daughters’ playing time.
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“We adults are taking the fun out of sports. … [High school sports is] about providing an extracurricular program where kids can learn something they can’t learn in the classroom.” (Jim Flannery, assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations)
“The courts should not get involved in second-guessing a coach’s decision to play one person over another. Federal judges issue opinions and orders, not starting lineups.” (U.S. District Judge John Rainey)
“The coach can’t win. The level of scrutiny has made it harder to find coaches. You’ve got to have big shoulders.” (Spencer Welch, high school principal)
“It’s just getting worse and worse. The parents who scream the loudest get their way. I want to send a message that the parents are getting too involved in running the show. They smell blood and it’s open season on coaches.” (Darryl Gonyea, high school soccer coach) |
In OCTOBER, ghosts and goblins aren’t the only ghouls prowling on Halloween night.
Related developments:
In the towns of Coldwater, Union City, and Bronson, MI, police departments will no longer inspect children’s Halloween candy. Once a measure of caution, it is now considered a liability risk.
In Hammond, IN, an elementary school bans Halloween costumes and cancels the annual Halloween parade, citing liability concerns.
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“This cape does not give the wearer the ability to fly.” (Warning on a Halloween Batman costume)
“It’s sad that society is such that you have to think about an adult world rather than a child’s world in terms of liability and lawsuits.” (Tom Patton, Director of Elementary Curriculum in the Hammond, IN school district) |
It’s NOVEMBER and as high school marking periods come to a close, teachers feel their authority is challenged by the threat of legal action.
Related developments:
In Horse Shoe, NC, the father of a 17-year-old girl who was penalized for not turning in a homework assignment, sues the school, asking a judge to override the teacher.
In Georgia, educators report that the pressure to change grades is “pervasive.”
In Milwaukee, WI, a 17-year-old boy and his father sue the school district for assigning three summer homework assignments to its honors pre-calculus students. They argue that students “should be able to enjoy their summers free of homework.”
In Toledo, OH, a high school football star turns to a judge to reinstate his eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities, which was lost once his grade-point average dropped below the minimum 1.0.
And,
In Las Vegas, NV, a former University of Nevada student sues his school, claiming that he was unfairly assigned a B-minus. He seeks $10,000 for “emotional duress, tuition, books, and living expenses.”
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“There’s a lot of pressure to change grades.” (David Schutten, head of the 3,400-member Organization of DeKalb (NC) Educators)
“If you talk to most teachers, they will tell you their authority has been eroded in academics and discipline. … What has changed most dramatically is not the kids … but the parents.” (Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators)
“Lawsuits have become a great cost for school districts. … The entire sub-specialty of education law didn’t exist 25 years ago, and now it’s a big, recognized sub-specialty. You can’t keep track of the number of times that someone comes in to a principal’s office and says, ‘If you don’t do this, I'll sue you.’ It’s just so commonplace.” (Julie Underwood, general counsel for the National School Boards Association)
“I’ve seen many cases of parents going into schools and coercing teachers to change grades.” (Lisa Jacobson, chief executive of Inspirica, a tutoring and test preparation business)
“After special education, the biggest number of school court cases is around the selection of valedictorians.” (Thomas Guskey, University of Kentucky education professor) |
It’s DECEMBER, and the holiday season is in full swing. But merriment can bring accidents. Can our already overburdened emergency rooms handle an upsurge in traffic?
Related developments:
Due to the fear of litigation, specialists like obstetricians, neurologists, and neurosurgeons are increasingly limiting their on-call availability to work in emergency rooms. The risk of being sued by emergency room patients is greater, specialists perceive, not only because the patients tend to “come [in] in a more acute state where outcomes are less certain,” but also because they do not have previously established bonds with them.
Hilo Medical Center in Hawaii is without an on-call orthopedic surgeon three weeks a month. On-call neurologists are only available two weeks a month at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, FL. And in Dayton, OH, neither Grandview Hospital nor Southview Hospital have an on-call plastic surgeon.
A 2003 report by The Advisory Board Company shows that “[h]alf of all medical specialists … would move some or most of their business if required to take call.”
A 2004 American Hospital Association survey shows that around 30% of hospitals provide specialists stipends for on-call emergency room coverage. At The Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX, pediatricians, general surgeons, and cardiologists receive $100, $250, and $500, respectively, for each day they agree to work on-call.
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“These patients are historically the ones that sue. If I see you in my office, we have time to go over things and build a rapport. You don’t have that luxury in an emergency room. And those are the sicker patients, and that means higher risk.” (Antonio Prats, a Miami, FL, neurosurgeon, on why many specialists avoid working on-call)
“Some obstetricians don’t want to take care of patients in the emergency department anymore. If a patient walks in with no prenatal care, that’s a tremendous malpractice risk.” (David Joyce, president of a North Carolina medical consulting firm)
“Nearly 1,000 hospitals across the country are telling us this is a problem. When we looked at the results across different geographic regions in the country, or with regard to hospital size, the responses were essentially the same.” (Dr. Ben Vanlandingham, principal investigator of 2004 American College of Emergency Physicians study where “two of every three hospital emergency department directors [said] they have shortages of on call specialists, such as neurosurgeons, orthopedists and obstetricians”)
“Stipends are a huge fiscal burden. Hospitals are easily spending into the millions. A lot of the time, the money is driving hospitals more in the red. I haven’t heard of hospitals folding because of on call pay but it could affect equipment purchases and the opening of new services, for example. There is only so much in the red you can go.” (Alan Steinberg, Pittsburgh, PA, attorney who specializes in hospital work) |
Sources:
January:
Schiavo, Christine, “Sledders are finding it tough to hit the slopes,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 26, 2005;
Shaffer, Mark, “Where sledders head,” The Arizona Republic, January 9, 2005;
Healy, Patrick, “Town’s downhill pastime may face an uphill fight,” The New York Times, April 26, 2004;
“New Mexico mountain resort announces end to shovel racing tradition,” Business Wire, August 25, 2005;
Rattigan, David, “This winter, sledders finding it a tough go,” The Boston Globe, January 6, 2005;
Sweeny, Emily and Douglas Belkin, “Citing risk, golf clubs look to ban sledding,” The Boston Globe, January 2, 2005;
Koziol, John, “Laconia Country Club posts property,” The Citizen, January 13, 2005;
Torok, Kyle A., “Sledding banned at Hornell Country Club,” The Evening Tribune, January 13, 2005.
February:
Ordower, Garrett, “County tells bicyclist thanks, but stop plowing trail,” Daily Herald, February 21, 2004;
Slevin, Colleen, “Colo. lawmakers OK revised ski-safety law,” The Miami Herald, April 16, 2004;
The Associated Press, “Family sues Conway ski resort in snowblading accident,” Foster’s Daily Democrat, March 1, 2005;
Murphy, Shelley, “Ski crash model’s own fault, jury finds,” The Boston Globe, July 7, 2005.
March:
Moskin, Julia, “Crave Thin Mints?,” The New York Times, March 14, 2005;
O’Connor, Kevin, “Nature deficit?,” Rutland Herald, May 1, 2005.
Karnap, Jane, “4 Broward Girl Scouts earn gold,” Sun-Sentinel, June 5, 2005;
April:
Grow, Doug, “Old rocket’s fate is up in the air,” Star Tribune, November 30, 2004;
Kasarda, Bob, “Playground safety left up to schools,” The Times, September 24, 2004;
The Associated Press, “Green River couple sues over son’s playground fall,” Casper Star Tribune, March 28, 2005;
Kahn, Chris, “In pursuit of safety, teeter-totters and swings are disappearing from playgrounds,” Sun-Sentinel, July 18, 2005;
Ruggles, Rick, “Rockbrook welcomes rocket’s return,” Omaha World-Herald, June 8, 2005;
Hymann Harris, Meryl, “Safe playgrounds,” The Journal News, October 25, 2004;
Louey, Sandy, “Recess gets regulated,” The Sacramento Bee, August 22, 2004;
Koplan, Jeffrey P., Catharyn T. Liverman, and Vivica A. Kraak, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2005;
Cauchon, Dennis, “Childhood pastimes are increasingly moving indoors,” USA Today, July 11, 2005.
May:
Sostek, Anya, “Literally insuring a good time,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 10, 2005;
Rohrs, Sarah, “Students step lively for Carnivale,” Vallejo Times-Herald, May 17, 2005;
Carey, Clay, “City concerns could curtail police-led processions,” The Tennessean, February 20, 2005.
June:
Tarone, L.A., “Man who filed lawsuit after injury surprised pool is closing,” Standard-Speaker, June 6, 2005;
Tarone, L.A., “City swimming hole to remain dry,” Standard-Speaker, June 6, 2005;
Levine, Susan, “The fall of the high dive,” The Washington Post, July 13, 2002;
Reid, Whitelaw, “Better to dive right in,” The San Diego Union-Tribune, July 10, 2005;
Kelley, Tina, “Neck deep in rules, before getting a toe wet,” The New York Times, September 1, 2005;
“Woman sues golfer over injury on course,” Akron Beacon Journal, September 15, 2004;
Barber, Sally, “Improvements planned at skate park,” Cadillac News, May 7, 2005;
Bergquist, Lee, “Ramping it up a notch,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 10, 2005;
Artz, Matthew, “Skaters fuming over skatepark tickets,” Berkeley Daily Planet, July 29, 2005;
Stackel, I.M., “Tradition might lose out to safety concerns in case of tree swing,” Naples Daily News, October 11, 2004;
Maloney, Field, “Cannonball!,” The New Yorker, August 23, 2004.
July:
“Hinesburg decides to nix July 4th fireworks display,” The Associated Press, June 21, 2004;
Oleson, Ellie, “Auburn July 4 fireworks canceled,” Worcester Telegram & Gazette, June 5, 2004;
Lipp, Linda, “Fireworks display set for Fourth of July,” The News-Sentinel, March 10, 2004;
Prince, Brian, “Warning: Rip tide alerts not islandwide,” Asbury Park Press, June 15, 2005;
Murray, Jeff, “Group to renew Spencer Lake,” The Ithaca Journal, November 5, 2004;
“Park’s future is uncertain amid city budget woes,” Kalamazoo Gazette, May 21, 2005;
Alvarez, Fred, “Fertile fields for tourism,” Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2005;
Wilson, Rebecca, “Liability issues major impediment for agritourism initiatives,” AgriNews, April 29, 2005;
Brady, Matthew, “State’s farms may become tourist spots,” The Daily Oklahoman, April 14, 2004;
Louv, Richard, Last Child in the Woods, Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC, April 15, 2005.
August:
Haberman, Zach, “Fan blinded by ball sues Yanks for $5M,” New York Post, April 11, 2005;
“Woman seriously injured by foul ball at Fenway Park cannot sue Red Sox, appeals,” The Associated Press, June 10, 2004;
“Mother of girl hit in head by bat files lawsuit,” The Associated Press, September 13, 2005;
“Baseball fan files lawsuit over injury,” The Associated Press, April 15, 2005;
Schwaneberg, Robert, “Foul ball case hits on nothing but netting,” The Star-Ledger, February 15, 2005;
“Court: fans may sue over foul balls,” The Associated Press, July 13, 2004;
Samson, Derek, “Heads-up baseball,” The Kansas City Star, July 17, 2004;
Booth, Michael, “Court hears cases of errant pop fouls and bb shots,” New Jersey Law Journal, February 21, 2005;
Lucas, Kelly, “Lawsuits fair or foul,” The Indiana Lawyer, July 2, 2003;
Mummolo, Jonathan, “Injured softballer crying foul,” Newsday, July 15, 2004;
Glasenapp, Todd, “With lawsuit settled, tourney makes return,” Arizona Daily Sun, July, 29, 2004;
Glasenapp, Todd, “Page softball tourney being sued,” Arizona Daily Sun, September 22, 2003;
Gordon, Rachel, “Teams offer help on parks,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2005.
September:
Dobie, Michael, “The Litigation Game,” Newsday, February 16, 2003;
O’Neil, Marisa, “Coach takes parent to court,” Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2005;
Swift, Jamie, “Coaches under fire,” King County Journal, July 7, 2004;
Patterson, Randall, “Final down,” Houston Press, March 5, 1998.
October:
Stoy, Roland, “Halloween should be scary but safe,” The Daily Reporter, October 27, 2004;
“Hammond schools ban Halloween costumes, parade,” The Associated Press, October 12, 2005.
November:
Niolet, Bejamin, “Father sues over grade,” The News & Observer, February 1, 2005;
Ghezzi, Patti and Mary MacDonald, “Pressure to change grades is common, teachers say,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 8, 2005;
“Judge tosses homework lawsuit,” The Associated Press, March 9, 2005;
Reiter, Mark, “Athlete loses court bid for eligibility,” Toledo Blade, September 17, 2004;
“Student sues over grade,” The Associated Press, February 5, 2005;
Brown, Janelle, “L is for lawsuit,” Salon.com, July 12, 2002;
Austin, Liz, “Teachers say angry parents big threat,” The Associated Press, April 13, 2005.
December:
Galewitz, Phil, “Neurologists scarce or absent in many ERs,” Palm Beach Post, June 28, 2004;
Glabman, Maureen, “Specialist shortage shakes emergency rooms,” Physician Executive, May-June 2005;
Galewitz, Phil, “ER patients still face possibility of dumping,” Palm Beach Post, December 11, 2005;
Adamson, Deborah and Beverly Creamer, “ Hawai’i losing its doctors,” The Honolulu Advertiser, May 9, 2005;
Kershaw-Staley, Tracy, “Hospitals risk losing specialists in ERs,” Dayton Business Journal, November 18, 2005;
Dorschner, John, “Invisible ER docs,” The Miami Herald, December 26, 2004;
Silverman, Jennifer, “Ob.Gyns. seek new arrangements with hospitals,” Ob.Gyn. News, September 15, 2004.
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