This was originally published on the SGR Blog.
If a young adult engages in an athletic competition, and is injured while playing, there may be a defense to third-party liability based upon the doctrine of “assumption of risk”. So does that defense protect a property owner where a person drinks to the point of intoxication; trespasses on a construction site; and is injured in a fall?
In July 2015, Michael Desroches and his friend, Daniel O’Grady, visited Daniel O’Grady’s brother, Ryan O’Grady, who resided in the Timber Creek subdivision in the Town of Ballston Spa, Saratoga County. The group socialized throughout the evening and consumed alcoholic beverages. After midnight, they went for a walk in the neighborhood and eventually decided to enter one of the houses still under construction. When Daniel O’Grady entered the house, followed by Desroches and Ryan O’Grady, he saw an opening in the floor that was located between 10 to 15 feet from the entrance and stepped to the side. But Desroches proceeded forward and fell through the opening approximately 8 or 10 feet into an unfinished basement, sustaining head injuries that required hospitalization.
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