Risk Management- Popke Article
After reading the article “Safety Net” by Michael Popke, I could not help but to think that a facility is not responsible for a cheerleading accident that happens while the cheerleader is in the air. The article talked about a teenager who was killed after she landed on her stomach in her cradle. The land caused a ruptured spleen, which she later died from. A facility has a due cause to “provide a reasonably safe environment and at least to carry out the following five duties: Keep the premises in safe repair, Inspect the premises to discover obvious and hidden hazards, Remove the hazards or warn of their presence, Anticipate forseeableuses and activities by invitees and take reasonable precautions to protect the invitee from forseeable dangers, and Conduct operations on the premised with reasonable care for the safety of the invitee” (Sawyer, pp. 19). Based on these qualifications, I do not see how the facility and managers can be held negligent in regards to the way the girl landed. The facility was not faulty; she simply had an accident while she was performing her stunt.
Of course, everyone knows that cheerleading can be dangerous, especially when the cheerleaders are doing stunts. I do not think that it is the facility manager’s duty to inform the cheerleaders or their parents of the harm that may occur.
In the text book “Facility Planning and Design” by Thomas Sawyer, he gives the example that a well designed facility allows for a smaller amount of supervisors, where as a poorly designed facility may require multiple supervisors. In regards to cheerleading, I think that there should be more than one supervisor. The facility development should allow for this.
In conclusion, I do not think the facility managers or designers should be held liable for the cheerleaders death. I feel that it was a freak accident that happened and it is a very unfortunate situation, but nothing that happened from the result of a faulty facility.
Source: “Safety Net” by Michael Popke
Sawyer, Thomas H. Facility Planning and Design. 12th ed. Champaign: Sagamore Publishing, 2009. 19-25. Print.
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