Understanding What Assumption of Risk Means

Assumption of risk is a common defense used in civil personal injury cases. Defense attorneys often use it to try to relieve their clients of legal liability for the plaintiff’s injury. If you have been hurt by another party and plan to bring them to court, you should understand what assumption of risk means.

Assumption of Risk: The Legal Definition

In legal terms, assumption of risk essentially means that you freely and knowingly risked injury to yourself by doing something regarded to be dangerous. Attorneys use this defense to try and relieve their clients of the responsibility to provide a reasonable standard of care.

If you assumed risk before doing something, that means you knew it was dangerous before doing it. If a court of law agrees that you assumed the risk, you may not be able to recover damages for your injury.

Express vs. Implied

How explicit does your assumption of risk have to be in order to be recognized in court? There are a couple of different types:

Express

Express assumption of risk means that you either signed a waiver or gave verbal consent to participate in the activity. People who go skydiving or undergo voluntary cosmetic surgeries often sign waivers saying that they understand the risk involved.

Implied

When the assumption of risk is implied, that means that there is an inherent danger in the activity. For example, riding a high-speed roller coaster carries an implied assumption of risk. You can tell by looking at the ride that it could be dangerous.

Primary vs. Secondary

What is the extent of the defendant’s duty of care to you? Let’s look at primary and secondary assumption of risk.

Primary

Primary assumption of risk is fairly straightforward. You understood the risk and participated in the activity anyway, relieving the defendant of their duty of care. If you go skiing and break your leg, you cannot seek damages from the ski resort because you knew that skiing carries a risk of injury.

Secondary

With secondary assumption of risk, the defendant did owe you a duty of care and breached it, but you moved forward with the activity anyway.

Let’s say you were at a party with alcohol, and the person responsible for driving you home had a few drinks. If you still allowed them to drive you home, and their intoxication caused a car crash that injured you, they may have a defense for secondary assumption of risk.

If you have been injured and plan to sue the party who hurt you, you should understand what assumption of risk means. Work with your personal injury attorney to prepare for any eventuality in court, and be aware of the part you played in your injury. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your injury, tell your story to a personal injury lawyer in Boise to receive top-tier legal guidance going forward.