Legal Aspects Of Business I Essay Sample

Legal Aspects of Business: the Case of Peter

There are generally, there are two areas of liability here: product liability (McInnes et al., 2013), that is, the potential case against the manufactures of the rowing machine (that is, Oars Inc.; and a case against the gym. Before determining who Peter can sue, it is important to establish the facts.
First of all, it will be hard for a case against Oars Inc. to materialize to anything that Peter can claim. The rowing machine is a potential hazard. There is the risk of hurting oneself with any of its parts: the wheel; the axle; the levers and pullies; and the rope pulled by the person rowing. Sure enough, Peter, as described, hurt himself severely when his fingers were caught by the wheel spokes against one of the pullies.
Therefore, it remains true that the rowing machine was an accident waiting to happen. However, Oars Inc. were aware of this and had a warning in the owner’s manual, asking them to keep their hands away from the wheel while the machine was in operation. This is the very thing Peter did. Therefore, Peter cannot have a case against Oars Inc. They did their part (precaution) as all manufactures are supposed to. Regardless, product liabilities are hard to deal with because it is hard to fault the product conclusively, considering that many who use it ‘responsibly’ never get hurt. But most importantly, Peter took some alcohol in his water. He may not have been drunk, but this could help Oars Inc.’s case of ‘irresponsibility’ on Peter’s part. Moreover, the company may cite the case of ‘inherent risk’ (McInnes et al., 2013).
The other potentially liable party is the gym. The gym owned the owner’s manual the whole time, but had it in the general manager’s office, away from the customers, the users. But then again, the gym did not necessarily have to avail the manual. They could have placed a warning sticker on the machine or somewhere close so users would see and exercise caution. The gym, aware of the danger, failed to warn the customer accordingly.
Secondly, the general manager, White, prevented Peter from getting a quick medical attention. He yelled at Peter, saying no one was allowed to leave the gym in case of an accident. As a result, the ambulance arrived 25 minutes later.
Therefore, there are two potential grounds Peter’s liability case against the gym: the absence of warning and being kept waiting after the accident.
Unfortunately, the situation may not be as simple as that. It all depends on the process of registration for membership at the gym, including the amount and type of legal documentation one is expected to sign to become a member. For example, that the gym does not allow people to leave in case of an accident may be have been specified in a membership terms and conditions, which are legally binding. If that is the case, then Peter may not have a case on that front. The fact that he is a member of the club means that he signed such a document and by it gave his consent to that term. Secondly, some gyms require applicants to sign some liability waiver. These include: a total waiver of liability; a waiver of negligence; a waiver of liability for intentional acts. Signing any of these waivers may affect the case. The last two waives may concern the alcohol Peter drank.
In conclusion, Oars Inc. may protect itself by saying they provided caution as expected by the law. Moreover, they may be exempted on the grounds of ‘inherent risks’. The gym is, therefore, the most likely liable party. However, if Peter signed any of the waivers, he does not have much of a case either. But if there were no such waivers, he may have case- ‘may’ because the law can be too complex for anyone to be certain of anything.

References

McInnes, M., Kerr, I.R. & VanDuzer, J.A. (2013). Managing the Law: the Legal Aspects
of Doing Business, 4th Edition. Canada: Pearson