Legal Definitions - assumption of the risk

Assumption of the Risk is a legal principle that describes situations where a person voluntarily and knowingly exposes themselves to a danger, thereby accepting the potential for injury or loss. When this principle applies, it can limit or prevent that person from successfully suing another party for damages if they get hurt.

The concept is often understood through two main categories:

• Primary Assumption of the Risk: This occurs when the risk is an inherent, unavoidable part of a particular activity, and by choosing to participate, you accept those inherent dangers. In such cases, the other party (e.g., the organizer of the activity) may not have owed a duty to protect you from those specific inherent risks because they are fundamental to the activity itself. Therefore, if you get hurt by one of these inherent risks, the other party might not be considered negligent.

• Secondary Assumption of the Risk: This applies when another party was negligent (meaning they breached a duty of care), but you still chose to proceed with an activity despite knowing about their negligence and the specific danger it created. Your decision to voluntarily and unreasonably encounter that known risk might reduce or eliminate your ability to recover damages, depending on the specific laws of the jurisdiction (e.g., rules of comparative negligence).

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1 (Primary Assumption of the Risk): Imagine you attend a professional ice hockey game and choose to sit in the front row behind the goal, an area known for fast-flying pucks. During the game, a puck flies over the protective netting and hits you, causing an injury. By purchasing a ticket and choosing that seating location, you are generally understood to have accepted the inherent risk of being struck by a puck, which is a known and unavoidable part of attending a live hockey game. The arena typically has no duty to protect you from this inherent risk beyond providing reasonable safety measures like the netting.

• Example 2 (Secondary Assumption of the Risk): A guest is visiting a friend's house. The friend warns the guest, "Be careful, the third step on the porch is loose and I haven't fixed it yet." Despite this clear warning, the guest decides to use that specific step anyway, rather than stepping over it or using another exit. The guest then trips on the loose step and sprains an ankle. While the friend was negligent in not fixing the step, the guest's decision to voluntarily and unreasonably encounter the known danger after being warned could be considered secondary assumption of the risk, potentially reducing or eliminating their ability to claim damages from the friend.

• Example 3 (Express Assumption of the Risk, a form of Primary): Before embarking on a guided whitewater rafting trip, participants are required to sign a waiver that explicitly states they understand and accept the inherent dangers of rafting, such as capsizing, encountering strong currents, or falling out of the raft. If a participant later falls out during a rapid and sustains an injury that is a direct result of one of these inherent risks, the signed waiver serves as express assumption of the risk. This agreement indicates they voluntarily consented to take on these known dangers, which could prevent them from suing the rafting company for injuries arising from those inherent risks.