• occupiers' duty of care...

• owners/occupiers responsibilities...

• business...

• visiting...

• paying...

• invited...

• uninvited...

• removal of danger...

• adequate signage...

• inspection of premises.

Liability of 'occupiers' of land and premises.

It is a long established principle that the 'occupier' of land or premises owes a duty of care to those who enter on to the land or premises. Consequently, if an occupier fails to take adequate care to ensure the safety of those who enter on to the land in question, and as a result a visitor is injured, the occupier will be liable to pay damages to the injured party. Note that liability attaches to the 'occupier', namely the person in direct control of the land or premises, and that although the owner of the land may also be liable, it is potentially disastrous for clubs and groups to take the view that the owners of the land and premises are solely responsible and that therefore the occupying club or group need not take steps to protect itself.
  Clubs and groups are obliged to ensure the safety of visitors whether those visitors are paying customers at an event, are on the land for business reasons, eg., salesmen or tradesmen delivering goods, are present at the invitation of the occupier, or even in some circumstances, are trespassers. The degree of care to be taken depends on the category of the visitor, but visitors, invited or otherwise, are protected whilst on land or premises at which events or functions are being held by the removal or avoidance of anything which constitutes a danger. If this is impossible, steps should be taken to draw the attention of visitors to any dangerous situations or circumstances by, for example, the use of clearly visible worded signs. It is prudent for organisers of events and functions to inspect premises concerned beforehand, and for clubs and groups to check the premises regularly, to ensure that the premises are in a safe and proper condition.

Visitors to take care...

It should be noted that a visitor is obliged to take reasonable care for his own safety and thus if he suffers injury as a result of a dangerous situation which is visible and obvious, the damages awarded to him may be reduced wholly or in part because of his contributory negligence.

Foreseeability...

It should be noted that for the occupier to be found liable it must be proved by the injured party that the injuries suffered by him were a foreseeable consequence of the occupier's failure to take the required degree of care. If the injuries suffered by the visitor were not a predictable consequence of the occupier's failure to take care, the occupier will not be held liable.

Players and members...

Clubs and groups should also take steps to ensure the safety of their own and other club's players and members. Clubs and groups may be held liable not only for the injuries suffered as a consequence of their failing to take reasonable care by keeping premises in a safe condition, removing dangers and warning of hidden dangers, but may also be liable for injuries suffered on the field of play if the injuries were the result of either a deliberate assault by a player or an act of violence or negligence which was beyond what might reasonably be expected in the event or game concerned. By playing in a competitive sport, players are taken to have consented to a reasonable degree of physical activity and contact, but anything exceeding the bounds of reasonableness may enable the injured player to claim damages from the opposing player and that player's club, the player because he was the wrongdoer and the club because the wrongdoer was acting as an agent and, if professional, an employee of the club.

Injured persons remedy...

The remedy for injured parties is to claim for monetary damages from the occupier, and possibly the owner, of the land or premises. Monetary damages are to compensate the injured person for his pain and suffering, his past and future loss of income, and his past and future medical and hospital expenses. Judgments in favour of Plaintiffs of over $1M are not uncommon and therefore it is important for clubs and groups to ensure that they are adequately protected in the event of an injured person claiming damages from them.

Presently, there are two means of protecting a club or group, namely incorporation and insurance, and clubs and groups are strongly urged to use both of these forms of protection.