I feel like a law student....

I spent the evening at the Clovis Rodeo, and what made the biggest impression on me is the liability they have because of several conditions. I couldn't help but wonder how many times they have been sued for negligence.

Actually, the rodeo was a lot of fun. After the 3 hour event, Joe Nichols gave a 90 minute concert. All in all, a fun night, and perfect weather!

But, I couldn't help but notice 2 things. First of all, the concrete stands where most people sit had NO trash cans. There were some below on the lower walkway right above the boxed seat areas, but since we walked in on the higher walkway, I didn't see those until the way out. When I had trash I needed to throw out, I had to walk all the way to the restroom before I found a trash can. The result? Most people weren't as diligent as me, and left their trash all over the place. (Foreseeable when you don't provide abundant trash cans.) There was so much trash and spilled drinks everywhere. It seemed like you had to be very careful where you were walking, especially on the way out, if you didn't want to slip and fall on something.

Secondly, and worse, on the top walkway, the top row of "seats" (the top ledge of the concrete) is about 4 inches below the actual walkway. There is not a sharp edge or step to distingish it, but a curved edge. (Hard to explain.) Anyway, this edge is not painted in a bright color, nor is one part a different color than the other. This wasn't so much an issue when we got there early at 5pm. We sat in the very top row, so I got to watch what happened up close. As it got later, with a sold out crowd there, many people ended up standing along the fence behind the walkway that is next to the top row of seats. This crowd makes the walkway very narrow. On top of that, it was getting dark, with no lights on the walkway. Add to that the number of drunk and/or drinking people in the crowd. Now, you tell me how foreseeable it is that someone is going to walk in the narrow space and not see that curved edge and fall?

Let's see....the probability of injury when you have a sloping, curved walkway, not marked or distinguished in any way so that people will notice the slope, that is being crowded and and walked along by drunk people (btw, I didn't drink anything, as I don't like beer) , who are more interested in talking with friends and watching a rodeo than watching their step, is high as it only takes a little misstep to have someone slip and fall and hit their head on the concrete steps. The gravity of such injury is high, as people could hit their heads and have a concussion, break a bone, get cut, or fall on top of other people and hurt them. The burden on the rodeo groups is moderate. They would need to either paint a distinguishing line on the sloping portion, hang and use more lighting, and/or have their security patrol keep the crowd from standing and blocking most of the walkway. The utility in them keeping their behavior as is is low, as safety is important in any public gathering. Here, the probability and gravity outweigh the burden and utility, so the Clovis Rodeo grounds has breached their duty of reasonable care to all invitees on its property.

Yeah, so anyway, that's what I was thinking as I was seeing this. Does that mean that even though I didn't spend the evening studying, it kinda counts for something??? :)

Actually, in all seriousness, we DID see a lady fall. She fell on the sloped part of the walkway, exactly what I thought was so dangerous. She fell and landed right behind my husband. Kind of scary. Thank goodness she was ok. If she wasn't alright, and I was a lawyer, I would have been slipping her my card! That walkway is just ASKING for lawsuits!

Ok, other than that, I did wrap up my final edition of my Contracts outline this morning, and did a Defamation essay. I had to take my son to the doctor this afternoon, so unfortunately, that is all the studying I got in today. I do have the entire day alone tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get in a good 10-12 hours of studying. Sounds like a fun day....