Get Help After a Trip to a Stadium Leaves You Hurt
In September 2014, a Dallas/Fort Worth man fell from the stands at AT&T Stadium during a Texas-UCLA football game, critically injuring himself. The man fell 12 to 15 feet from the first row of the stands to the field-level suites below. He had been leaning over the stadium railing for much of the game.
Unfortunately, stadium falls like this one are not a new or uncommon issue. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Toyota Stadium in Dallas have all been sites of similar injuries.
In addition to falling, fans can also be injured by other people at a stadium where there is inadequate security. What should you do if it happens to you? Call a Dallas premises liability lawyer.
Who’s Liable After a Stadium Injury?
When an issue at a stadium causes your injury, the case will typically fall under premises liability. Premises liability is the legal concept that holds property owners responsible for injuries that arise on that property due to unsafe conditions.
Most of these injuries happen because a fan either slips or trips and then falls. Not all falls are the fault of the stadium, however. Here are a couple of ways a stadium owner may be considered at fault for a slip-and-fall:
- The owner (or an employee) should have recognized a dangerous condition (uneven ground in a high-traffic area of the stadium, for example) and repaired the condition, but did not. If a reasonable person would have considered the condition hazardous, and the stadium owner had ample time to remedy the situation, the owner may be considered liable.
- An action taken by the stadium owner or its employees may be the direct cause of a person’s injury. For example, a person tripping over cleaning equipment that was left out in the walkway. It is reasonably foreseeable that a person may be injured by this kind of negligence, so the stadium would likely be liable.
The case of the man who fell over the railing at AT&T Stadium may be an example where the stadium owner is not at fault. The railings exceeded the building code requirements for height, and there was no reasonable expectation that a person would be injured there. The case may have been different, however, if the railing was too weak to support someone leaning against it.
Under premises liability, a stadium owner can also be held responsible for an injury caused by another patron, if the owner did not provide adequate security. For example, by employing untrained security staff, or so few security staff members that stadium-goers are left unprotected.
Work with a Dallas Personal Injury Attorney
Sports fans attend these events to enjoy their free time and escape from the stress of their daily lives, not to go home with a serious injury. No one deserves to have their life turned upside down due to the negligence of a stadium owner. When an accident does happen to you, it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible. Texas’s statute of limitations requires you to make a claim within two years of the date of injury.
If you’d like to speak with a Dallas personal injury attorney regarding your potential stadium injury case, give Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP a call at (214) 231-0555 for a free consultation.
