Can You Sue a Recreational Archery Range for Injury in New York?

Going to a recreational archery range can be fun, but it also comes with serious risks. Between negligent archery ranges and inexperienced archers, you might not know who to file a lawsuit if you were injured at a range.

Fortunately, our lawyers know how to determine liability in these cases and can help you get compensation from the archery range or anyone else who contributed to your injuries. Many times, we will file a premises liability claim against the range for failing to keep the conditions on the property safe, regardless of whether you signed a waiver. Waivers in New York cannot excuse a business’s own negligence. If individual employees or another patron caused the accident, we can name them as defendants in your lawsuit. The law typically allows us to hold the range liable for its employees, so we will file a claim against each party we have evidence against.

Contact The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083 to receive a free case review from our New York personal injury lawyers.

Will I Be Able to File a Lawsuit Against Recreational Archery Range for an Accident in New York?

Archery range accidents can happen in many different if the archery range did something negligent. However, you might worry that signing a liability waiver took away your right to sue. In New York, waivers are not the airtight legal contracts most people believe they are.

Premises Liability

If you are injured at a recreational archery range, our Brooklyn personal injury lawyers can help determine if you can file a lawsuit for premises liability. To win these cases, you generally need to prove there was an unsafe condition at the archery range that the business was aware of and failed to fix or post warning signs.

However, the archery range does not need actual notice of the dangerous conditions. It is enough to show that the archery range had “constructive notice.” This means that the dangerous conditions were apparent and visible, and the archery range had a reasonable amount of time before the accident to discover the problem and correct it. Our team can gather evidence like your testimony and that of witnesses to show the condition that injured you. You were there long enough, and the archery range should have known about it.

Archery range negligence can take many forms. Perhaps the range placed targets too close to a walking path, and you were struck while walking by. Or, an arrow went through a worn-out and ineffective backstop, the part that stops wayward arrows, to injure you. In other cases where the archery range is in a woodland area, victims might trip and injure themselves on debris or equipment buried under foliage. If the archery range knew of or should have known about the dangerous condition, they can be held liable in a lawsuit.

Liability Waivers

Liability waivers are used by most recreational businesses in New York, even ones that are not particularly dangerous. Thus, you will likely be made to sign one at the archery range before being allowed onto the premises. Unfortunately, many injury victims think they cannot file a lawsuit because they signed a waiver. But this is simply not true. The enforceability of the waiver will depend on how the accident occurred.

Essentially, liability waivers are contracts that protect a business from responsibility when injuries occur in connection with the activity. However, waivers only protect businesses from customers’ negligence. They will not shield an archery range from liability if it acts negligently, like in the examples above. According to G.O.B. Law § 5-326, places of recreation, like a recreational archery range, cannot have customers waive their right to sue in the event of injuries from the business’s negligence. If you paid a fee or admission to use the range, the liability waiver will not protect the archery range from its own carelessness.

Liability Waivers Signed by Minors

In some cases, a child was injured at the archery range after signing a liability waiver. This might have happened in the presence of the parent or while on a school field trip. Either way, waivers signed by minors in New York are unenforceable. The same rules described for waivers above would apply if a child was the victim. Even if the parent signed the waiver for the child, it will not bar a child’s right to recover compensation.

Who Else Could Potentially Be Liable for an Archery Range Accident in New York?

Of course, the archery range might not have been ultimately responsible or only partially at fault for the accident. Other people can get out of hand having fun at the range and injure you. In rarer cases, you might have been injured by a defective bow while shooting at the range. When our attorneys investigate your case, we will determine if any of the following parties should be named in your lawsuit:

Other Archers and Range Employees

Some archery range accidents are caused by other patrons or even negligent employees. Perhaps you were injured by other customers horsing around and firing arrows at each other. In other cases, the negligent archer might have looked away from where they were shooting and carelessly fired anyway. If you were struck by an arrow or injured in another way by someone other than the archery range, we can help prove their liability.

Archery Manufacturers

It is also possible that you were injured at the archery range by a defective bow. Bows have many connected parts, including the bow limbs to which the drawstring is attached. If the bow was negligently designed or manufactured incorrectly, it can cause serious injuries. When the drawstring is pulled back, the limbs can violently snap. This could also cause the arrow to veer off and injure yourself or another person.

In many cases, defective bows should have been recalled by the maker. If your bow caused your injuries, we can help determine if the designer of the bow or its manufacturer should be sued. If the same company designed and manufactured the bow, we will only need to file a claim against one party. If two different companies were responsible, we can sue both and determine liability in your lawsuit.

Our New York Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help

For a free case assessment with our Flatbush, NY personal injury attorneys, call The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083.