Northeastern Ontario Recreation

Association (NeORA)
2016 Educational Forum & Trade Show
Espanola, Ontario

Risk Management Practices for

Recreation and Facilities
September 28, 2016

Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Risk Management
Common Playground Concerns
Signs
Claim Studies
Arena Risks
Arena Claim Studies
Toboggan Claim Studies
Outdoor Skating Rinks

Risk Management
The process making and carrying out decisions
that will minimize the adverse effects of accidental
losses upon an organization.
Its all about managing uncertainty.
Imagining the worst case scenario
before it happens

Whats It All About

Common sense
Being prepared
Knowing what youre getting into before you get
into it
Giving your employees a roadmap to follow
when things start going wrong or go wrong

What Does it Consist of?

1.
2.
3.

Policies/Procedures
Training
Risk Transfer

contracts/signage
4. Claims Protocol
5. Incident Reporting
6. Documentation
7. Inspections & Maintenance

The Risk Management Process

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Identify & analyze

Formulate options
Select the best technique
Implement the plan
Monitor & modify

The Goal of Risk Management

Pay a little bit now or pay a lot more later

Recurring Comments by
Adjusters/Legal Counsel

Not measuring trip ledges prior to repair

No written records of patrols
Lack of a formal maintenance protocol
No formal inspection process
Lack of signage warning users
No contract
Didnt follow their protocol

Occupiers Liability
Occupiers have a responsibility for people on
their premises
In Canada, this principle is found in both
legislation & the common law

 As an occupier, you must take reasonable steps

to prevent foreseeable incidents from occurring
Who is an occupier?
Anyone who has control of a premises and
the power to admit or exclude others

10

How Does Liability Arise?

When a law/ statute is broken
When a contract is breached or violated
When an act or omission causes injury or
damage to another person

11

Negligence
The failure to exercise the standard of care that
a reasonably prudent person would have
exercised in a similar situation

12

 To establish a common law cause of action for

negligence, a plaintiff must prove that the:
1. Defendant owed him or her a duty of care
2. Defendant breached that duty
3. Plaintiff suffered damage resulting from the
breach

13

What do Courts Consider?

Was the danger foreseeable?
Did the Occupier follow accepted standards of
practice?
Was there an inspection system?
How long did the hazard exist?

14

Common Playground Concerns

Common Playground Concerns

Equipment in need of repair

Head and neck entrapment
String and toggle entanglement
Placement of equipment
Conditions and suitability of premises
Lack of adequate warning of hazards
Poor parks department rules, procedures and
enforcement

Common Hazards:
Playground Surfaces

Exposed concrete footings

Tightly compacted surfaces
Shallow surfaces
Eroded surfaces
Unsanitary surfaces

Common Hazards:
Creative Play Structures

Exposed end pipes

Protruding nuts and bolts
Sharp edges
Cracked/ vandalized tube slides
Lack of or ineffective guard rails

What do our inspectors commonly see?

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Signs

Signs

Design

Location

Visibility

Maintenance

Use of Signs
Is your sign wording effective?
Do your signs conform to uniform standards?
Is your sign appropriately located?
Do you inspect and maintain your signs?

Signs - Things to Consider

If the equipment is designed for a particular age
group, post a sign indicating as such
Hours of operation
Rules of conduct
Parental supervision required
Location of nearest telephone 911 is a free call
Contact Information
Any other warning or dangers

34

Never
Under Estimate Vandalism

Claim Studies

Baseball Diamond Claim

A women was watching her sons baseball game
A wild pitch was thrown, the catcher missed it
and it went through a hole in the backstop
fencing
The women was struck by the ball, shattering
her occipital bone

Crane v. Surrey
The Citys contractor painted over graffiti on a
concrete bowl in the skate park
A man fell off of his BMX bike while riding in the
concrete bowl and suffered injuries
Claimed that the City was liable for failing to
ensure that he was reasonably safe on City
premises

Mott v. Brantford
The City set up a skateboard park at the back of
a parking lot at the civic centre
A boy fell into a plate glass window while horse
playing with another skateboarder
The boy suffered from severe cuts and scars to
his arms and back

Arena Risks

Where are the Risks

in Arenas?
Ice itself and related activities
Public Skating

Hockey, Ringette
Figure Skating
Drinking in the Dressing Rooms

 Non-Ice related activities

Trade Show

Stag & Doe

Concert

Special Events

Floor Hockey

Liability Issues Unique

to Arenas
Ice surface

Spectator safety

Biohazards

Dressing rooms

Ice resurfacers

Universal Liability Issues

Rental contracts

Volunteers
Premise safety
Sidewalks, parking lots
Stairs and aisles
Exits

Claim Studies

Arena Figure Skating Claim

A 12 year old girl was a member of a figure
skating club
She was participating in a class session at an
arena
Her toe pick caught a depression in the ice from
a goal post and she fell fracturing her hip
Regular walk-on inspections were not being
carried out and no warnings about the potential
hazards in the goal post areas

Stein v. Sandwich West (Township)

A 17 year old boy was participating in a minor
hockey game
During the game he skated over a hole in the ice
and fell into the arena boards
He sustained a severe spinal cord injury
rendering him a quadriplegic
The ice where the fall took place was found to
be too thin and therefore was a hazard

Polozny v. City of Burnaby

Municipal staff set up Christmas trees along the
indoor arena ice rink and displayed lights and
other decorations
During a public skate a woman skated on a pine
needle or a small branch from one of the trees
She suddenly stopped and fell and was injured
The dimmed lighting in the arena made it difficult
to see any debris on the ice and the proximity of
these trees were considered a hazard

Mitigate the Risk:

ICE
Industry standards to be used as a minimum
standard

Create detailed policies & procedures specific to

the user schedule

Tournament play
Hockey games

Family skates
Speed skating

Mitigate the Risk:

Ice Shavings

Can contain human body fluids

Should be posted as unsafe
Ideally, they should not be accessible to the public
Can act as an allurement to children/teens
Workers should be advised of the possible dangers

Mitigate the Risk:

Public Skating
Post rules for public skating
Inspect the ice before the skating begins

Ensure that staff are educated on the rules and

trained on how to enforce them

 Enforce any ice capacity rules

Document any actions taken

Consider having an on ice supervisor

What do our inspectors commonly see?

54

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58

Tobogganing

Winter Activity Injuries

(Winter 2010-2011)*
Hospitalizations in Canada due to:
Tobogganing:
171
Ice Skating:
889
Hockey:
1,114
Snowmobiling:
1,126
Skiing/Snowboarding 2,329
*Canadian Institute for Health Information

Causes of Sledding Accidents

A collision with another sled or object
Loss of control of the equipment
Falling off of the equipment

Common Toboggan Hill Hazards

Ice patches

Depth of snow (6-12 recommended)

Visibility
Man made jumps
Broken glass / sharp objects

 Lack of adequate warning of hazards

Poor parks department rules, procedures and

enforcement
Protrusions sticking out of the ground

Maintenance
The hill should have six to twelve inches of snow
cover
Hills should have an even surface clear of rocks,
brush, trees and knolls

Create a protocol for opening and closing the

hill. If possible, the hill should be closed at night
and following severe weather (ice storm)

 Hay bales should be placed at all potential points

of impact
Inspectors should check the ground surface of
the hill as well as break up any jumps that may
have been built and remove debris
Hills should be closed if conditions are dangerous
Document all inspections and maintenance
activities

Education

School assemblies
Flyers to students / parents
Kneeling provides the best protection
Lying on the stomach can increase the risk of head
injuries
Lying on the back can increase the risk of spinal injuries
Dont wear scarves
How to climb back up the hill
Signs of hypothermia and frostbite
Helmets
Roll to the side to get off your sled

Toboggan Claim Studies

Uggenti v. Hamilton (City), 2013 ONSC

6162
The Plaintiff was tobogganing with his wife and
was seriously injured in an accident on reservoir
property owned by the City
Arbitration decision in 2012 found the City fully
liable because they breached the Duty of Care in
Section 3 (1) of the Occupiers Liability Act, with
no contributory negligence on the Plaintiffs
Mr. Uggenti sustained a crushed L1 vertebrae
and developed chronic pain, depression and
post-traumatic stress

Uggenti v. Hamilton (City), 2013 ONSC

6162
Superior Court in Hamilton upheld the arbitration decision
found that the Plaintiffs were not aware of the risk of hitting
the edge of the snow covered ditch
The snow covered ditch was considered a hidden danger that
was not a risk inherent to tobogganing
They found the reservoir property was not a utility right-of-way
or corridor and the Plaintiffs were not deemed to have willingly
assumed the risk of entering this property
The Court also agreed with the Arbitrator that there is no
contributory negligence against the Plaintiffs
Court assessed General Damages at $125,000 + $50,000 for
Family Law Act damages
The Citys appeal was dismissed

De Cou v. Leamington (Municipality of),

2014 ONSC 6044
Sledding accident on Feb 2,2009 at a Municipal park
29 year old Plaintiff was tobogganing with her 2 young boys and her
then boyfriend
She was familiar with the hill as she grew up in the area and used
this park as a young child
She had inspected the hill as she walked up then made one sled run
down the hill. Her boys also began sledding. On her second sled run
she veered to the right and suddenly stopped causing her to eject
from the sled causing injury
She later said it was a piece of wood under the snow but was not
sure
Plaintiff alleged that the Town breached the Duty of Care (within the
meaning of Occupiers Liability Act 3(1)) by failing to render the
property safe such as posting signs that the Town was not
maintaining the hill and to use at ones own risk

De Cou v. Leamington (Municipality of),

2014 ONSC 6044
Town had no record of complaints or prior injuries and no
evidence that the hill was dangerous
Town was aware the hill was being used for this purpose
Court determined that the duty of care is not one of strict
liability but rather one of reasonableness and that ..Ms
De Cou willingly assumed the known risk that she could
be injured.. The cause was Ms. De Cous inability to
control the sled on which she was chose to travel.
The Court believed that the Town kept the park reasonably
safe and did not create a danger to deliberately cause
harm(as described in Occupiers Liability Act 4(1))
Court found the Plaintiff was 100% responsible for her
injuries

Outdoor Skating Rinks

Outdoor Skating Rinks Managing the Risk

Building the Outdoor Rink

Surface Conditions
Equipment
Flooding
Ice Thickness and Conditions
Rink Boards

Outdoor Skating Rinks Managing the Risk

Common Hazards of Outdoor Rinks

Cracks
Frost Boils
Exposed Ground
Chopped up Ice Surface
Ice Shavings

Outdoor Skating Rinks Managing the Risk

Maintenance and Inspections of Outdoor Rinks

Conflicting Use Hockey vs. Public Skating
Volunteers
Signage (examples of content)
Hours of Operation
Rules of Conduct
Open or Closed for Skating
Helmets are strongly recommended
Location of nearest telephone 911 is a FREE call
Contact Number (which is used for reporting incidents)

Len Bennett, BA, FCIP, CRM

Risk Analyst
len.bennett@frankcowan.com
twitter.com/LenGBennett
www.frankcowan.com/centre-of-excellence
frankcowan.com