Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Pools, trampolines pose
tough liability questions
Dear Mr. Rockefeller: One of the
neighborhood children was injured
jumping on a trampoline in my back
yard. Do I have anything to worry
about?
Dear Reader: In our rush to please our
children and create a “fun” environment for
them, we expose them to two hazards - pools
and trampolines. In both cases, homeowners
may unwittingly expose themselves to being
sued. Whether or not such a lawsuit would
be successful, though, is another matter.
"Yet, the wiser
choice is to
avoid all
possibility of
liability..."
homeowner’s insurance, call your insurance
agent and provide him/her with all of the
details. If you are sued, making that call will
mean that you will not have to worry about
the expense of hiring your own attorney.
Most of us also have quite a bit of coverage
on our homes. This means that, in addition
to being provided with an attorney, your
insurance may protect you against a judg
ment, should you be found liable for the
child’s injury.
Now, the problem with swimming pools
and trampolines is not just that children
can be injured playing, but the resultant
injuries are often horrific. We hear all the
time of children, especially toddlers, dying
in pools from being sucked to the bottom
by an intake valve, going into deep water
where they cannot swim, or even becoming
entangled with a pool cover. While death
is not a common result of trampoline acci
dents, paralysis, head injuries, and shat
tered bones are.
These accidents can be avoided by common
sense. In the case of pools, have appropriate
barriers to children wandering into them.
And, of course, never leave a child, par
ticularly a young child, unattended around
a swimming pool.
LETTER
From page 4A
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The first thing
to keep in mind is
that there is a rea
son that homeown
ers have insurance
on their homes.
This would be one
of those situations.
If a guest is injured
on your proper
ty, and you have
property that he owned
as well as their labor. Lee
wasn’t worse than anyone
else but reflected the values
of his society.
All this information came
from a collection of let
With respect to tram
polines, parents fail to
appreciate the danger
they pose. First, if you
read the cautionary notes
included with the tram
polines, they will tell you
to NEVER allow more
than one person to jump
on the trampoline; yet,
this is exactly what par
ents permit every day.
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Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
Secondly, have a net around the trampoline,
to prevent a child from injuring a limb (or
worse, their head or neck) by ejecting from
the trampoline. Third, make sure the area
around the trampoline has a “soft” landing
surface. Finally, NEVER let children play on
the trampoline without a an adult to super
vise their play and serve as a “spotter.”
While these rules are easy, liability issues
are more complicated. The law has a theory
called “assumption of risk.” Broadly speak
ing, it says if you do something risky, you
can’t sue for the consequences. However,
children of “tender years” have, at least
traditionally, been viewed differently - they
are said to be too young to fully appreciate
the risks of their actions. However, the law
seems to be evolving and modern cases seem
to be eliminating this distinction.
Consequently, the age of the child injured
in your yard, what he/she was doing, and
the extent that you were, or were not, exer
cising appropriate judgment in supervising
the trampoline-play are all critical factors
concerning your potential liability. Thus,
the younger the child and the less attention
you paid to the child, the more likely you
could be liable for the child’s injuries. Yet,
the wiser choice is to avoid all possibility of
liability - don’t have backyard pools, don’t
have backyard trampolines!
Local attorney Jim Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and is a former
Houston County Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former Miami Prosecutor.
E-mail confidential legal questions to
ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com. Visit www.
rockefellerlawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and Jim’s blog, The
Rockefeller Report.
ters that came to light in
2002 in two trunks that his
daughter had owned. Other
accounts of Lee don’t reflect
this new, vital information.
Frank W. Gadbois,
Warner Robins
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COMMENTARY
The truths we cling t 0...
In Star Wars VI: Return
of the Jedi, Yoda
has just died. Luke
Skywalker fears he is not
capable of pressing forward
alone. Luke’s wise teacher,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, appears
and provides assurance.
Sharing information and
perspective, he declares:
“Many of the truths we cling
to depend greatly on our
point of view.”
Ah, “our point of view.” We
can never escape it. It influ
ences everything we think
and do. Our point of view
establishes what we perceive
as the truth.
Relationships in the work
place are often disrupted
because of a difference in
point of view. I know cer
tain information; you know
some other information. The
information is not necessar
ily in conflict, but neither of
us has the complete picture.
I am about to take action
based on what I know. You
want me to take some dif
ferent action, because you
see things differently. The
action requires cooperation
between us, but because
each of our paradigms is
incomplete, we experience
conflict.
I’m not a bad person.
You’re not a bad person.
Yet somehow, the emotion
of anger, sometimes even
a sense of betrayal, arises.
Accusations are made, feel
ings are hurt, and rela
tionships are strained. All
because of unresolved differ
ences in point of view.
Could the conflict have
been avoided? Maybe, but
rarely do we see that as a
possibility on the front end.
Hindsight, however, often
gives clues.
What if one person had
admitted, “You seem to know
something that I don’t know.
Will you take a moment and
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1 800 New House • AmericasHomePlace.com
tell me
how you
see this
situa
tion?”
I don’t
guarantee
that every
point of
conflict
can be
avoided if
it
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
this simple action is taken.
However, there’s little harm
that can come from such an
inquiry. If one person will
ask this problem-resolving
question, the other person
is likely to reciprocate. Both
parties learn a lot. With a
more complete picture of all
the relevant information,
a more appropriate action
plan can be generated.
Are leaders immune from
having fixed points of view?
Of course not. Sometimes
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 2007
leaders have lived with “good
enough” for so long, they
believe that the way things
are is just about the only
way they can be. They’ve
lost any vision for something
better, and stimulating oth
ers in the organization to do
something different seems ...
well, like too much work.
Perhaps the desire for sig
nificant improvement has
just withered. After all, to
achieve different results will
require doing something
new. And that requires
thinking about the situa
tions the organization faces
in a fresh way.
Improvement is change,
and change is often uncom
fortable. The easiest thing
to do is to just allow activi
ties to continue on the way
they’ve been.
See HOOPER, page 6A
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
5A
dhooper2:a juno.eom