Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
While hunting is not an activity that occurs in Boston proper, there are plenty of areas in the Commonwealth where people do go hunting on a regular basis, as well as in the surrounding states of New England. Many of these area have professional hunting guides that advertise in Boston to get customers.
Hunting is clearly a lot of fun for those who participate in the activity regularly, but there is obviously a level of danger involved, since we are dealing with firearms and possibly people who are not very familiar with how to use firearms and firearms safety. When a person hires a guide though a service, they are often relying on that guide for equipment and, even more importantly, their expertise.
While being shot is an obvious danger, many people will be injured or even killed in slip-and-fall accidents when hiking or climbing in the woods. According to a recent news article from CBS News, a 30-year-old man was recently killed in one of these accidents. Authorities have said they are not yet sure of the circumstances surrounding his death and are having a full autopsy performed to shed more light on their investigation. They have stated that they will release more information about the victim’s death when it becomes available.
Whether you are hunting or engaged in any other activity that is being led by a professional guide or instructor, you are very much relying upon that person’s skill and expertise to not only make your activity an enjoyable one, but to get you through the day safely. While some activities are inherently dangerous, it seems that most accidents could be prevented if everyone involved used proper care.
As our Boston personal injury attorneys can explain, when you sign up and pay for a guided activity, the company you are paying is accepting a duty of due care. There are various ways that a person can have this duty of care. In this case, we are talking about a contractual duty of due care, since you are paying that company to look after you when engaged in the activity. When you go to a pool with a life guard, there is likely a contractual duty imposed upon that life guard to keep the people in the pool safe to the best of his or her ability.
There are also statutory duties imposed by law. For example, when you drive on a road, you assume a duty of due care toward all potential plaintiffs, which generally included other drivers, pedestrians, and people in non-motorized vehicles such as bicycles.
This duty of due care means that you should act as a reasonable and prudent person so as to prevent foreseeable injury to foreseeable persons and property. However, if the person who owes you a duty is an expert of some kind and is expected to use his or her expertise when working with you, that person may be held to a higher standard of care. In this case, they will be required to act as a reasonable and prudent expert in the same or similar situation. While you may think of experts as scientists or doctors, an expert can be found in any field where specialized training and experience is necessary.
If you have suffered personal injury in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Man dies after hunting accident in Union Co., November 12, 2016, By Scottie Kay Auton, CBS News 7
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