Page 9 - Misconduct a Reference for Race Officials

racing are by their nature unpredictable sports and therefore inherently involve
elements of risk of personal injury or damage to the property of participants. This
inherent risk in our sport influences what is considered to be “reasonable”.

Factors that may be taken into account when determining “reasonableness” in
relation to the extent of a duty of care owed by an organiser may include: the size
of the organiser, its location, how it is run and by whom (e.g. staff / volunteers),
types of activities and, importantly, the age and experience of the participants.

It is likely that the extent of any compliance or non-compliance by the organiser
with relevant guidance notes and codes of practice will be material
considerations in considering whether an organiser has taken reasonable care.

Negligence can therefore be summarised as a duty not to inflict damage
carelessly but it does not impose a general duty on everyone to act carefully
towards everyone else.

Causation and no-fault accidents
The fact that a participant in or onlooker to an event suffers an injury, accident or
loss (referred to in legal parlance as “damage”) does not of itself mean that
liability automatically falls on the event organiser for that damage. It is not
sufficient for a claimant merely to show that they have suffered damage in order
to claim compensation. The questions to be asked would be not only: “Did the
organiser fall short of what was reasonably expected of them?” but also: “Did this
falling short cause the damage complained of?”

There are still such things as accidents that are not caused by the failure of
anyone else to take reasonable care. For example, if a visitor sustains an injury
on a well maintained pontoon because, perhaps, they simply lost their footing,
the owner of the pontoon is unlikely to be found liable for the resulting injuries.
The outcome is likely to be different if the owner of the pontoon was aware that
the pontoon was damaged in some way but had taken no action to: warn others
of the danger; close off access to it; or attempt to repair it.

Contributory negligence
Where damage suffered is a consequence not only of the organiser’s negligence
but also the claimant’s own lack of care then the compensation payable is liable
to be reduced in proportion to the claimant’s own blameworthiness.

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