Imagine this scenario:

Is it possible that a weight added to the head of a racquet might fly off (during a racquet swing) and injure somebody else on court?

If so, would there be a case for liability since the weight is not a specified piece of equipment usually used for badminton?

(This doesn't include racquet heads flying off or racquets slipping out of hands)

I suppose it Tantamounts to throwing a Object that is not STANDARD OR ACCEPTED PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. This would indeed show a Intent to harm others if not atleast carelessness in terms of civic sense!

Thus the Judgement passed would be Imprisonment on charges of Attemp to murder or Acting In connivence to manslaughter using a Primitive yet sophisticated Instrument!

If it has been proved that there was no motive for murder or Injuring the other, then U would be Imprisoned for a small period of some months on acount of public endangerment through careless means!

This is what the Public prosecutor argue to make sure that he puts u Behind bars!

I would rather go through the punishment and Be satisfied that I was able to smash harder with the extra head weight!

I am interested in - why you wanna put extra weigh on the Racket head!

If it is because you wanna improve the power of your smash - just buy a heavy racket - but that (as well as the weight) will set you back in every other aspect of the game!

If you wanna strengthen your arm - you should practice with a squash racket - that will give you some power! And perhaps you could strengthen your upper body - especially your stomach

look in the equipment section - the idea of liability came to me whilst people were suggesting ways to increase racquet head weight.

cheung, most clubs require players to sign waiver of liability incurred from badminton activity anyway. Of course, with a good lawyer, u can sue anything. collapsing, or other

sorry it didn't came out right before.

cheung, most clubs require players to sign waiver of liability incurred from badminton activity anyway (excluding collapsed building, protruding floor board, earthquakes, etc) Of course, with a good lawyer, u can sue for anything.

What if you are a visitor to the club?

And I've never signed such a decleration before in the clubs I've played in.......member or visitor.

The answer is "that depends." It depends on the legal system in the country or forum where the injury occurred. It depends on the circumstances. Generally, under the Anglo-American system of civil justice, if a person unintentionally causes injury to another person and it is foreseeable to the average, reasonable person that such an injury might result from the first person's actions or inactions, then the first person is negligent and will probably be liable for the injury.

Cheung, I assume that you are talking about applying lead tape strips to the racquet. Tennis players have been using such strips for years, but they may stick better to the wider surface of a tennis racquet. My thought is that if a weight strip is so heavy that it might easily break the adhesive bond and fly away from the racquet, then the weight is probably too heavy for the racquet frame in the first place; you would be voiding any warranty that the racquet has and creating extra, probably excess stress on the frame. I found that by adding a few strips of tennis racquet head tape to my old racquet, I was able to increase the head weight without having to worry about small lead weights flying off the frame. Electrical tape would work fine also.

Jan, you need to wake up and be a bit more realistic. Not everyone can (and most shouldn't) run out and purchase the latest racquet or buy a new one on a whim. Are you a descendant of Marie Antoinette ("If they don't have bread, let them eat pastries")?

Don't forget that by adding weights to the frame you are affecting the speed it takes for the rachet head to return to normal after flexing at the end of the stroke.

When I first added some lead tape to my old racket, they actually flew off, twice! Good thing I didn't hit anyone, because they went so fast I couldn't see where they went. After finding them, someone told me to cut the tape into thinner strips, and wrap them around the frame between strings. I then used some thin strips of electrical tape to keep them on, and they never flew off again!

Phil

It's not just lead tape flying off that you need to worry about on the courts. I've seen racquets slipping from players' grasp; shuttlecocks being smashed into faces, etc.

All facilities tend to have a waiver clause for anyone (visitors or regulars) that basically states that the management/facility is not liable for any injury arising from the use of the facilities, etc...

For personal injuries caused by other players, I would think that if it is accidental, it would be covered under your house insurance, etc. (if the injured party decided to proceed with a law suit - they will have to show neligence on your part and improperly securing lead tape would probably qualify).

Here in BC, isn't that what supposedly the sports insurance is supposed to cover? I mean, that's one of the prime reasons Badminton BC pushes for everyone to buy, if not the full membership, to at least obtain the affiliate membership.

Anyone in BC ever had the opportunity to cash in on this insurance policy? Or is this just another insurance scam.

good points, i didn't thought of that. However, i think all facilites owners do carry some sort of liability insurance as part of normal business operation.

I'd take the line that Brett stated.

By adding lead tape to the head, you are making an unspecified and UNCOMMON alteration to the racquet. You, as the player, have to take responsibility for any reasonable injury that occurs from this alteration. That would include the lead weight scenario.

What if that lead weight flew off and blinded somebody? The injured person could argue the player should not have been using such a dangerous piece of equipment in the presence of others without informed consent.

(Brett, you were completely correct about the lead weight scenario. That was exactly what was going through my mind)

And would your own insurance cover your own legal costs of defending against a personal injury case? No doubt the injured party's insurance company will want to minimise their payout and sue the player instead!!

Any lawyers or insurance brokers out there??

DONT DO THIS

Well I guess you are right - Brett - sometimes what seems easy an obvious - is neither easy or obvious to others - but I am still wondering I the adding of weight is to strengthen the arm or to get a harder smash!

Jan

A part owner of a badminton equipment company once told a group of us that he had an experimental training racquet made which had weights attached to it for just the purpose you suggest. He abandoned the idea because it was just too dangerous if a weight came loose. He accomplishes the training goal by using a tennis racquet.

Cheung

You didn't injure anyone did you?. A little wordy but here goes

"By adding lead tape to the head, you are making an unspecified and UNCOMMON alteration to the racquet. You, as the player, have to take responsibility for any reasonable injury that occurs from this alteration."
-responsibility resides with that player whether he has made any alteration ie he owes duty of care to his fellow players regardless
-fact that the alteration was UNCOMMON will affect how foreseeable it was that such an alteration would cause injury

"What if that lead weight flew off and blinded somebody? The injured person could argue the player should not have been using such a dangerous piece of equipment in the presence of others without informed consent."
-this is what a rational person would say but the lead tape (assuming it was properly fitted etc) in itself would not be dangerous. however, if there was some negligence involved then that would clearly make it nore foreseeable that injury woould flow. informed consent doesn't really make any difference. consent does not change the nature of a negligent act and i doubt it amounts to any waiver (and query we can waive our right to claim for physical injury).

"And would your own insurance cover your own legal costs of defending against a personal injury case? No doubt the injured party's insurance company will want to minimise their payout and sue the player instead!!"
-whether your own insurance provide cover would depend on the insurance contract itself but the injured party's insurance company cannot sue you because there is no contractula relationship between the insurance contract and you (ie no privity of contract)

This is a link to a summary on negligence in sports injury: http://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/safetydutyofcare.

:)

Nah, I didn't injure anybody. And I wouldn't do anything potentially dangerous either!

I used to wrap a little insulating tape around the frame of the racquet. That's pretty harmless. Lead weights as suggested by some might be more hazardous (if it was lead tape, that would be different). How can one tell if they have been fitted properly if they are not a standard piece of equipment?

its essentially an evidential thing but one would imagine that insulating tapes and lead weights are straight forward ie simple to fit and therefore difficult to prove that it wasn't properly fitted. obviously, even a piece of standard equipment can be improperly fitted.

for what its worth, in most cases in the common law world, i think its unlikely that one would have to be liable to an opponent if the injury happened in the normal course of a game. regardless of the standard of the players, we assume some responsibility and take some risk when we step on to the court-which reminds me of heriyanto (and kartono) being hit in the eye by a shuttle during a match years ago-his contact lens came off

Something similar just happened to me today. I have strips of lead tape (0.75g each, 2 pairs) on my racquet. The tape was very secure on my racquet after a few test swings, but I was concerned about it flying off, so I wrapped tape around it just in case. And let me just say how glad I was! After 3 hours of use, one of the pieces of lead tape actually snapped in half. The two ends of the tape was still held to the racquet by the tape and the adhesive of the lead strip, but the strip itself had been torn in half. One of the pieces would might have flown off had it not been for the tape safeguard :)

About the liability for something like this: negligence is a charge of failing to take reasonable steps to prevent a harm you have caused to someone. You are liable not for the harm itself, but for not taking preventative measure to that harm. For example, if you maintain your car reasonably, such as according to the manufacturer's guidlines, then you are not liable for an accident in which your car fails. That's why we have the foreseeability requirement for liability. It is unreasonable to safeguard against an impossible harm, therefore there is no liability. That is how the law is supposed to operate right now, anyway. If you get an (un)sympathetic jury or a judge up for re-election, the law often gets fudged.

In my case, even if the tape injures someone, there should not be liability because there were no preventative measures I could reasonably take whose benefit would outweigh the cost of those benefits. (Not using lead tape counts as a preventative measure.)

The key question is whether one negligently wrongs another. Negligence is defined as inattention to one's duty (According to Webster). If I pay attention to that duty and act upon it as fully as I should, I cannot be negligent.