Race Hosts May Be Liable for Response to Crash

(CN) - A pair of racing associations must face claims that they failed to protect a motocross driver from oncoming bikes after an accident, a New York appeals court ruled.

Martin Ozog and his wife, Amanda, sued the Western New York Motocross Association and Palmyra Racing Association for negligence.

Ozog, an experienced motocross racer, complained that a flag person failed to warn racers away after he was thrown from his bike, leading other racers to hit him.

A judge in Wayne County, N.Y., denied the racing associations' asked motion for summary judgment, and the Appellate Division's Rochester-based Fourth Department affirmed.

"Plaintiffs presented evidence that the flag person at the location where plaintiff was injured either was not trained properly or did not act appropriately to warn oncoming racers that plaintiff had fallen from his vehicle and was on the track," the unsigned opinion states.

"Plaintiffs thereby raised an issue of fact whether an allegedly improperly trained or negligent flag person is a risk inherent in the sport of motocross racing," the justices added.

Read the Top 8

Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.

Email *

Submit