Recreation Employers

1
Recreation Employers

• Duty to supervise, give guidance
• Case Boese v. St. Paul R.C. School District
  unsupervised interim teacher in gym class
• Vicarious liability
• Health and Safety WCB regulations in BC
• Strict liability lawful activity exposes
  others to extraordinary risks even though there
  is no fault by the wrongdoer
• Due diligence defense
• Defense of estoppel relied on erroneous legal
  advice

2
Recreation Employees

• Employee v Independent contractor e.g., a golf
  pro
• Control test
• Dependence test
• Volunteers v employees in non-profits
• Case Russell v. Winnifred Steward Assn. For the
  Mentally Handicapped
• Consultants, not employees

3
Recreation Employees contd

• Employee oversights
• Case Moddejonge v Huron County Board of
  Education outdoor education teacher,
  non-swimmer student
• Case Poulton v Notre Dame College coach
  ignored players hip injury
• Employers be careful not to over burden employees
• E.g., ratio of lifeguards to swimmers

4
Volunteers

• Duty of care if injury reasonably foreseeable
  neighbour principle
• Volunteers may reduce risks by adding extra
  hand
• Standard of care of voluntary organizations ?
• Case Creamer v. Tees Agriculture Society
  skating rink
• Necessity of proper selection, training,
  supervision, evaluation, perhaps insurance
• Vicarious liability for negligence of volunteers

5
Amusement devices and parks

• Safety
• Occupier liability
• Premises, I.e., the condition of the equipment or
  building
• Case Falk v. M. F. Wagner Shows safety bar
  not in place
• Activities, I.e., the use of the equipment or
  building
• Case Golos v. Trans-Canada Waterslides
  participants agreed to activity risk but not to
  extra risk due to over crowding
• Waiver failed only referred to use, not the
  condition of the slide

6
Amusement devices and parks

• What is foreseeable?
• Case Niblock v PNE 81 foreseeable that a
  beer tent patron would fall over a low fence
• Voluntary assumption of risk no defense if
  device is a trap
• Warnings may fail if not specific
• Case Davidson v. Cumming Bros. 95 hair
  caught in go-cart
• Need not warn if obvious danger
• Case Schulz v. Leeside Developments 78 sat
  on bow of boat, fell in, injured

7
Buildings and facilities

• Occupier Liability
• Is the occupier in control ?
• Case Polini v Canadian Lakehead Exhibition
  92 occupier not liable wedding party
  (leasee) in control of floor
• Case Snitzer v Becker Milk Co. and Dinger
  accident outside store entrance, both the
  landlord (Dinger) and the store tenant (Becker)
  liable.

8
Buildings and facilities contd

• Shared liability
• Case Mortimer v. Cameron, 92 horse play in
  renovated building, fell through barrier owner
  60, City 40. Duty to protect and failure to
  properly inspect
• Child hurt high standard!
• Case Forget v Ste Agathe (town) 86 child
  fell through substandard railing at arena
• Case Vachon v Roy child playing behind gas
  station, fell into cess pool
• Trespasser
• Cempel v. Harrison Hot Springs Hotel 96 no
  liability, after hours, fell into hot tub
• Speed bumps must be visible

9
Firearms and Hunting

• Canada Fire Arms Act, Criminal Code, Gun Registry
  law some ineligible
• Voluntary Assumption Risk
• A hunter assumes the risk of being hit by a
  bullet fired without negligence
• Issues reflects high standard of care -
• Careless pointing of a firearm
• Incompetent handling
• Storage