This case involves an injury at a football stadium. The plaintiff was attending an NFL game in the state of Washington. The weather conditions at the venue became very windy as a storm was approaching. While in a picnic area, a large gust of wind carried a large steel garbage can, among other debris, and seriously injured the plaintiff. It is alleged that the defendant should have monitored the inclement weather, secured any loose equipment, and ushered patrons to a safer area. Experts in event management and meteorology were sought to opine on the issue.
Question(s) For Expert Witness
1. Can you discuss your background in managing stadiums for baseball games?
2. Based on the brief case summary, was there anything that could have been done to avoid the injury?
Expert Witness Response E-008921
I hold spectator safety in the highest regard. At our stadium, we constantly seek to update and improve our policies and procedures to maintain the highest levels of safety and enjoyment for fans. Specifically, after learning about an injury that occurred offsite, involving an inflatable bouncy house that was carried away in high winds, I changed our policy to restrict the use of our inflatable attraction if winds exceed 12mph. When we designed and built stadium, we had such potential safety hazards in mind and purposely purchased garbage cans with adequate weight to prevent them from being blown over in heavy winds and bolted down practically all exposed items, including picnic tables and other portable equipment. Our standard operating procedures dictate that during inclement weather our ushers move fans under the protection of the structure between the first and second levels. In certain cases when weather is clearly going to be an issue we will close off our picnic areas ahead of time to avoid an incident.
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Michael Morgenstern
Michael is Senior Vice President of Marketing at The Expert Institute. Michael oversees every aspect of The Expert Institute’s marketing strategy including SEO, PPC, marketing automation, email marketing, content development, analytics, and branding.
