Safety and Selfishness

Have a chat about any general surfing related topics.

Postby Hang11 » Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:31 am

Sar wrote:3. Public liabilty – does that mean that through our ineptness in surfing we will we open to sueing if we cause an accident? I think Johnny B alluded to the ridiculousness of this at the start of the thread.


It's not ridiculous at all - under common law in the UK, you owe a duty of care to your neighbour. If you injure them, you can be sued for negligence. The extent of the tort is the tough bit - engaging in something like surfing is obviously dangerous, so you could reasonably expect to be injured, but I would think if someone does hurt you and does not take precautions to avoid that happening, eg not wearing a leash, then you could definitely have a go at them legally.

I would hazard a guess that it's the same in NZ too for Roy, as NZ law has its foundations in English common law.

Personally, I hope that it never happens. The last thing anyone needs is 0800 SUETHEM or whoever hanging around at the beach handing out flyers.

Have a google for the well known case of Donoghue v Stephenson, which initially established the principal, and is about someone drinking a rotten snail.
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Postby Roy Stewart » Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:39 am

Hang11 wrote:
Anyway - how do I get to have a try of your board when it gets to Christchurch? I'd love to have a go on it.



The best bet is to register at

http://www.snow.co.nz/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=8

And let it be known that you are keen to have a go.

Regarding leashes, surf lifesaving clubbies never wear them over here, and they are there to save lives, so go figure.


:? [/url]
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Postby Hang11 » Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:51 am

RoyStewart wrote:Regarding leashes, surf lifesaving clubbies never wear them over here, and they are there to save lives, so go figure.


:? [/url]


Good point.

I'll get in touch with the Chch guys, cheers.
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Postby Johnny B » Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:23 am

Once again the Dancing Monkey speaks the complete, undeniable truth, and somehow manages to do so in a concise and humorous manner! Good work Sar.

Sar wrote:3. Public liabilty – does that mean that through our ineptness in surfing we will we open to sueing if we cause an accident? I think Johnny B alluded to the ridiculousness of this at the start of the thread.


Yep, I just manage to use lots n lots of words yet say very little.

Sar wrote:11. Scary leash story – my leash got tangled round my feet once. It was well scary!! :shock:
:lol:


:lol:
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Postby Sar » Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:47 am

Hang 11 - I had a quick look at the case and can kind of see the link, but there was lot of jargon which made my head hurt so couldnt read any further. The "0800 SUETHEM" you described is what I meant by my point.

Everyone has a responsibility to act responsibly to protect the health and safety of others as well as themselves but obviously surfing is a dangerous sport. Coud you imagine 'a' takes 'b' to court because 'b' wasnt wearing a leash and the board hit 'a' or how about 'x' takes 'y' to court because 'y' was wearing a leash but when they got to close together in hairy conditions 'x' got tangled in 'y's leash and got hurt because of it.

*shudder* kinda seems to take the fun out of surfing and I imagine that if everyone was forced to take out insurance then there would be an awful lot of it going on. I can see (stay with me here) that 'm' could end up taking 'p' to court after 'm' dropped in on him causing 'p's wave of the day to be ruined and 'p' suffered 'emotional trauma' because of it. Unfortunately we live in a ridiculous world so I would rather keep the one of the pure things left out of the courtroom.
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