A county-owned park has a concrete pad on which local kids built skate ramps. They leave them there and use them as they want. The skate ramps are not well built and the park department has put up a sign “Use At Your Own Risk”. Is the county liable if someone is injured while using poorly constructed or deteriorating equipment?

Mar

A county-owned park has a concrete pad on which local kids built skate ramps. They leave them there and use them as they want. The skate ramps are not well built and the park department has put up a sign “Use At Your Own Risk”. Is the county liable if someone is injured while using poorly constructed or deteriorating equipment?

The county has premises liability coverage. The county MAY be held liable for any bodily injury sustained on county premises. It could be argued that the county has accepted liability by allowing these skate ramps to remain and be used on county premises. The court would have to decide if the “USE AT YOUR OWN RISK” sign is sufficient to remove the liability of the county. Since you say they are not well built, it would seem the county is on notice of a defective condition. To merely put up the sign could be construed as condoning the dangerous situation, not taking appropriate steps to remedy it. This is a topic which should be discussed with the county attorney, BUT WE WOULD RECOMMEND THEY BE REMOVED UNLESS THEY ARE DESIGNED BY AN ARCHITECT AND PROFESSIONAL INSTALLED.

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