Stolen from a forum meber who stole it from another forum
homers_double
Posts: 8,279
May 28, 2010
I did the usual mountain bike ride up at the MDC Reservoir in West Hartford Thursday morning along rocky, narrow trails, through meadows and woods and up and down steep hills.
It was my choice and my risk. Soon, this might be gone.
The Metropolitan District Commission is looking to close access to bikes — and, conceivably, runners and walkers — at all of its reserviors because of a ridiculous $2.9 million jury verdict this month. The case was brought by a mountain biker who was severely injured when she crashed into one of the large steel gates at the entrance to the West Hartford reservoir and the network of 30 miles of trails in the 3,000-acre parcel.
Maribeth Blonski was riding the wrong way, with her head down, when she hit the gate on May 16, 2002. If you know the reservoir off Farmington Avenue, it's the big yellow gate you must walk around soon after you leave the parking lot.
The gate has been there for 36 years. It is always closed.
Suddenly, I find myself in-synch with the outraged crowd that thinks lawsuit-mad litigators are running amok in our court system.
I've been riding, walking and running around the MDC reservoirs since the 1980s. I've tumbled over rocks, sprained my ankle, ran myself ragged climbing to Kilkenney Rock, sailed over the handlebars on my bike, been chased by turkeys and coyotes and contracted annual cases of poison ivy.
Never have I ever thought of suing the quasi-government agency that opens its land for public use.
According to her lawsuit, Blonski — an experienced mountain biker — was riding on the red loop road "when she saw a closed gate in her path of travel. Ms. Blonski was caused to hit her head on the gate due to the unsafe and dangerous condition of the bike trail … due to having the gate being closed with no signs posting it was closed."
A jury bought Blonski's story. Remarkably, Superior Court Judge Edward Domnarksi ruled that because the MDC sells water like a for-profit company, it is not immune from lawsuits — even though it is an agency made up of municipalities tht and exists solely to provide cheap public water, at cost.
"It doesn't look good for bicycling,'' MDC lawyer R. Bartley Halloran said this week.
"Up until this most recent decision, the MDC had considered that the immunity that applies to municipalities also applies to us. The problem is that we have about 80 miles of roadways. To get that up to a level of where you wouldn't have these types of claims is going to be very likely impossible."
"You have to consider whether you are going to close it totally or close it just to bikers and roller bladers."
One of Blonski's lawyers, Joel Faxon, told me that the MDC has "tens of millions of dollars in insurance."
That is the problem here — folks who think there is an always-full trough to feed at. Without our it's-got-to-be-somebody-else's-fault culture, the law firm of Stratton Faxon wouldn't exist.
And Faxon, I suppose, has a point when he tells me that "there is a way you set up a bike path. There are rules and regulations and standards."
"The concept that they are going to close the place down or have to prohibit public use seems to me likely an effort to pander to the legislature to obtain immunity," he said.
I certainly hope this persuades the General Assembly to pass some sort of special immunity for the MDC. But there's another, larger point increasingly lost these days: personal responsibility.
"Mountain biking by definition does not occur on smooth and even garden paths without obstructions such as trees, ravines, boulders, cliffs, gates and fences,'' the MDC argued in court papers. "Mountain biking occurs on a variety of terrains, which the plaintiff well knew before she chose to ride her mountain bike with her head down in the wrong direction and, ultimately, into a bright yellow pipe gate."
Public hearings on whether to close the reservoir to bicycles will be announced soon.
I did the usual mountain bike ride up at the MDC Reservoir in West Hartford Thursday morning along rocky, narrow trails, through meadows and woods and up and down steep hills.
It was my choice and my risk. Soon, this might be gone.
The Metropolitan District Commission is looking to close access to bikes — and, conceivably, runners and walkers — at all of its reserviors because of a ridiculous $2.9 million jury verdict this month. The case was brought by a mountain biker who was severely injured when she crashed into one of the large steel gates at the entrance to the West Hartford reservoir and the network of 30 miles of trails in the 3,000-acre parcel.
Maribeth Blonski was riding the wrong way, with her head down, when she hit the gate on May 16, 2002. If you know the reservoir off Farmington Avenue, it's the big yellow gate you must walk around soon after you leave the parking lot.
The gate has been there for 36 years. It is always closed.
Suddenly, I find myself in-synch with the outraged crowd that thinks lawsuit-mad litigators are running amok in our court system.
I've been riding, walking and running around the MDC reservoirs since the 1980s. I've tumbled over rocks, sprained my ankle, ran myself ragged climbing to Kilkenney Rock, sailed over the handlebars on my bike, been chased by turkeys and coyotes and contracted annual cases of poison ivy.
Never have I ever thought of suing the quasi-government agency that opens its land for public use.
According to her lawsuit, Blonski — an experienced mountain biker — was riding on the red loop road "when she saw a closed gate in her path of travel. Ms. Blonski was caused to hit her head on the gate due to the unsafe and dangerous condition of the bike trail … due to having the gate being closed with no signs posting it was closed."
A jury bought Blonski's story. Remarkably, Superior Court Judge Edward Domnarksi ruled that because the MDC sells water like a for-profit company, it is not immune from lawsuits — even though it is an agency made up of municipalities tht and exists solely to provide cheap public water, at cost.
"It doesn't look good for bicycling,'' MDC lawyer R. Bartley Halloran said this week.
"Up until this most recent decision, the MDC had considered that the immunity that applies to municipalities also applies to us. The problem is that we have about 80 miles of roadways. To get that up to a level of where you wouldn't have these types of claims is going to be very likely impossible."
"You have to consider whether you are going to close it totally or close it just to bikers and roller bladers."
One of Blonski's lawyers, Joel Faxon, told me that the MDC has "tens of millions of dollars in insurance."
That is the problem here — folks who think there is an always-full trough to feed at. Without our it's-got-to-be-somebody-else's-fault culture, the law firm of Stratton Faxon wouldn't exist.
And Faxon, I suppose, has a point when he tells me that "there is a way you set up a bike path. There are rules and regulations and standards."
"The concept that they are going to close the place down or have to prohibit public use seems to me likely an effort to pander to the legislature to obtain immunity," he said.
I certainly hope this persuades the General Assembly to pass some sort of special immunity for the MDC. But there's another, larger point increasingly lost these days: personal responsibility.
"Mountain biking by definition does not occur on smooth and even garden paths without obstructions such as trees, ravines, boulders, cliffs, gates and fences,'' the MDC argued in court papers. "Mountain biking occurs on a variety of terrains, which the plaintiff well knew before she chose to ride her mountain bike with her head down in the wrong direction and, ultimately, into a bright yellow pipe gate."
Public hearings on whether to close the reservoir to bicycles will be announced soon.
Advocate of disc brakes.
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Comments
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How the hell do these people actually WIN in court? It makes no effing sense?0
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yeehaamcgee wrote:How the hell do these people actually WIN in court? It makes no effing sense?
in this case the people making up the jury most likely don't have a clue about the mountain biking but the woman was an "experienced mountain biker" so they'll believe what she says0 -
I don't believe for a second that she's a mountain biker.
There's a difference between owning or just riding a mountain bike, and being a "mountain biker", a whole different mindset.0 -
for a start, if she was a serious mtber then her head would be made of granite and she'd most likely have written off the gate.0
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well exactly. There's not much going on in a "mountain biker"'s head, so head injuries are just shrugged off , generally
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Typical America and sadly its how the UK is going as well with all this "No win no fee" bollocks.0
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*sigh*
Another idiotic decision brought about by the shameless litigation culture that's developed over the past decade...
Another nail in the coffin of common sense...Earn Cashback @ Wiggle, CRC, Evans, AW Cycles, Alpine Bikes, ProBikeKit, Cycles UK :
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You can only hope they don't apply the knee-jerk reaction of closing the area to bikes, just because of one persons stupidity
Unfortunately, the way these things seem to go these days, they probably will.Earn Cashback @ Wiggle, CRC, Evans, AW Cycles, Alpine Bikes, ProBikeKit, Cycles UK :
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The MDC in question filed an appeal, which is expected to succeed and award costs and damages against Ms B
The court failed to advise the jury correctly on a number of issues, one of which is that the defending MDC ARE under the blanket of government protection and cannot be found liable, in a similar way the defendant and those accompanying her admitted that they could see the gate 500 yards away but the court steered the jury away from this fact.
All the info's available via the wonder of Google.Visit Clacton during the School holidays - it's like a never ending freak show.
Who are you calling inbred?0 -
This kind of stuff makes me sick.
:oops:0 -
Our judicial system is a joke and will never change.
If it does get closed, file a petition and stick it to them!0 -
thats rather ridiculous.
if you ride into something because you're not looking where you're going, how is that anyone else's fault but your own?
if she'd been miding her own business, harmlessly cycling past and the gate jumped off its hinges and attacked her, then fair enough, maybe someone else could be at fault, but to ride into it, and claim is just idiotic.
i frequently hurt myself. but i know its my own fault so i just deal with it. am i going to sue chicksands for allowing me to break my arm? no.
:evil:0 -
the land owners should sue for her for damaging the gate and stealing oxygen.0
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This sort of thing could kill of the way-marked trail as we know it.
I've noticed a load more signs around Afan and Cwmcarn warning of injury and death with skulls on them, and certain features have been sanitised like the boardwalks on Whites Level and was really disapointed today to see they've ruined the bridge drop on Cwmcarn DH it's gone from a fun drop, clearing a few steps to just a boring ramp.
But I guess the first prick who crashes and hurts themselves (who hasn't?) and sees it as an easy earner and I fear we'll ether all have to pay to ride to cover the cost of the insurance and sign endless forms to say we know we could get hurt.0 -
People like this should be ashamed of themselves, complete idiocy to the next degree. They reckon we'll all live to 100 in years to come, well if things are going to be that dumbed down and downright boring due to these wasters then shoot me now ! ! !0
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Ryan Jones wrote:People like this should be ashamed of themselves, complete idiocy to the next degree. They reckon we'll all live to 100 in years to come, well if things are going to be that dumbed down and downright boring due to these wasters then shoot me now ! ! !
No no! i am all for this! Just imagine, you're 70 years old, pension is running low, you walk into an unmarked fence - magically you are now able to sue! The way things are going you'll be able to keep pension topped up! :roll:
I joke of course. Its a bloomin disgrace!0 -
The biggest issue with what's happened here is all the media attention. In reality the idiot is likely to lose this case. The problem being that it will have caused the landowner a lot of hassle and probably will end up costing them as well despite damages, costs being awarded. Then when another landowner takes this into consideration they may not actually be worried about losing a case like this but they will want to avoid the hassle of having to defend it. Easy answer, ban bikers, snaitise the trails, take away the risk of being sued. What we need is some sort of quick filter, almost like you need an independant assessment of your case before you're allowed to go to court. If it get's rejected you pay an admin fee. Either way it should be quick and ought to root out the idiot claims at an early stage such as I cycled into a locked gate that I didn't see because I wasn't looking.It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.
I've bought a new bike....ouch - result
Can I buy a new bike?...No - no result0 -
It wasn't Rachel Atherton was it? She's got a history of riding into things at speed with her head down while riding the wrong way up a road...Uncompromising extremist0
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Northwind wrote:It wasn't Rachel Atherton was it? She's got a history of riding into things at speed with her head down while riding the wrong way up a road...
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=122890587737245
unless she has changed her name to Maribeth Blonski, er no it wasnt
speaking of rachel atherton http://athertonracing.co.uk/team/rachel/ their website has been given the full works. check her latest blog bit - "Ahhhhhh, an injury update. Thats a new one for me!!"0 -
Rachel's newest injury was mentioned on "the atherton project", and I think, on freecaster's race coverage.
She looks to be fine for the next round of the DH though.
Personally, I'm really tempted to head down to the bookies and put £500 down for her winning the world cup this year, and maybe a bit on Gee as well.0 -
bobpzero wrote:speaking of rachel atherton http://athertonracing.co.uk/team/rachel/ their website has been given the full works. check her latest blog bit - "Ahhhhhh, an injury update. Thats a new one for me!!"
I'm loving their new site, very well designed!0
