“ASSUMPTION OF RISK” DOCTRINE DIDN’T APPLY
After he was injured engaging in a squat exercise, RGM ended up suing this school, Manhattanville College (and others,) alleging negligence and seeking to recover personal-injury related damages.
When the school sought to dismiss the case, alleging “assumption of risk” – that RMG knowingly accepted the dangers and the likelihood of possible harm that came with the sports activity – the Westchester County Supreme Court ended up denying the motion.
And on appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that the school needed to show that the risks in question were “‘inherent in and arise out of the nature of the sport generally and flow from such participation.’” Since it was unclear, that by joining the soccer team, RGM accepted the risks of weightlifting, and given that there were questions as whether the school provided “proper supervision and instruction,” particularly in light of RGM’s “expressed concerns” and the supposed threats by an assistant coach that RGM would be removed from the team if he didn’t engage in the squat exercise, the AD2 agreed that dismissal of the case was inappropriate and that there were “triable issues of fact,” which needed to await determination after a formal hearing or trial.
Looks like the school got squat there.
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DECISION