Stadium Laws

There are two common ways people are injured at a sports stadium. The first is through a slip and fall accident and the second is through some kind of incident where there was not enough security present at the stadium, such as when someone is physically attacked in the parking lot or in the stadium. In most stadium slip and fall cases, the reason someone slips and falls is because the stadium failed to mop up the floor. This is most common in areas where many people are coming and going, such as by the vending machines or the concession stands.

Many times a customer will spill beer or some other substance, fail to notify the stadium, and another customer will come along, with their attention directed to an eye-level, and slip and fall on the spilled beer, having never seen the substance that was left on the floor. Stadiums have a duty to check the floors to make sure they are free of spilled substances that can cause people to slip and fall.

In a stadium slip and fall case, you have to prove that the owner of the stadium knew or reasonably should have known that the floor was slippery to be the point of being dangerous. This may be very obvious or it may be difficult to prove.

A lawyer can help you achieve the desired outcome in a case like this by doing any number of things, such as obtaining surveillance footage to show when the substance or content that you slipped and fell on was spilled. In these kinds of cases, timing is very important. If you slipped and fell on a substance that was only on the floor for a very short period of time, then the stadium will likely prevail on the argument that it could not have reasonably have known to clean up the spill, assuming the spill did not occur within the sight of the restaurant’s employees or management.

Finally, there are rare instances when someone has fallen, usually to their death, or with severe injuries, because they were leaning over the railing at a stadium. In these situations, you have to prove that the railing was too low or not sturdy enough to maintain a normal person’s weight or height. Having the right expert to prove your case is vital in a case like this.

NEGLIGENT SECURITY AT STADIUMS

In many stadium injury accidents, one of the main reasons people get hurt is because a fan attacks another fan either at the stadium or in the parking lot. Not surprisingly, in many of these cases alcohol is involved and is the fuel behind the fight that breaks out and that harms someone. Stadiums have a duty to provide adequate security for the stadium and parking lot. In instances where a fight has broken out and someone is injured, it may stem from the fact that there just simply was not enough security present to either deter a fight from starting in the first place or from breaking it up before someone is seriously hurt.

Alternatively, there may be what is called a dram shop case as well. In a dram shop case, this is where the stadium’s concession stand served someone too much alcohol, knew it and did it anyway, and then the person went out and drove and caused an accident with someone. This would also apply where a restaurant inside the stadium overserved someone. In any case, the stadium has a duty to make sure the concession stands and restaurant are not overserving people too much alcohol.