Here's another interesting read on this liability issue www.findlaw.com.au/articles/42/what-impact-has-civil-liability-act-2002-nsw-had-o.aspx
Laurie mentioned the issue of this case the instructor was found to be negligent. It seems that he didn't do anything deliberately negligent and just made a decision to continue home after a couple of bouts of rough running. Many of us have successfully done that. It seems to me that having your instructor making a wrong but genuine decision comes into the category of an "obvious risk" of a "dangerous recreational activity" David is correct that this is primarily a NSW case but most of the other states seem to have enacted almost identical legislation that this decision is based on. As such I imagine that those State courts will come up with similar findings. I am guessing that the no win, no fee lawyers will avoid cases like this in the future...they tend to only take on cases with a strong likelyhood of winning. The insurance companies will be the real winners. They will keep charging the premiums and most likely enjoy far lower pay outs. cheers Rob Rob Thompson mobile 0429 493828 ........................................ On Wednesday, 22 January 2014 8:13 AM, David McGonigal <[email protected]> wrote: Rob, It’s an interesting decision but it’s still only the NSW district court so it doesn’t establish any precedent outside the state. Effectively, it really restates the “willing assumption of risk” principle. But extending it to cover when the pilot is negligent, or irrespective of whether the pilot is negligent or not, is wide ranging - and seems to rewrite the law of torts (I wonder if there is an appeal?). In any case, a signed release will provide additional coverage for us. The challenge will be, as Rob says, what the insurance companies will do with this - will it leave student (and pilots) without insurance cover against personal injury? Best wishes, David David McGonigal 17 St Andrews St, Balmain NSW 2041, Australia Tel: 61-2-9555-4413 Mobile: 0416 151 239 Skype: davidmcgonigal www.davidmcgonigal.com.au [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to the Dimona Owners Group mailing list. To unsubscribe, send email to: [email protected]
