No !...... you'll put yer eye out !!!
Stay Safe
Posted on 07/18/2002 3:30:12 PM PDT by 45Auto
Millions of Americans play with paintball guns, which has led to lawsuits aimed at manufacturers and their marketing tactics.
According to a number of lawyers representing plaintiffs in paintball cases, at least 20 cases are pending nationwide against paintball manufacturers and distributors.
Many plaintiffs allege that the manufacturers and distributors deliberately market to young, inexperienced teen-agers, leading to serious injuries.
In one of the first paintball liability cases to go to trial, attorney Michael O'Donnell of Denver's Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy scored a defense win in Colorado. The case is being appealed. Travis v. Barton, Brass Eagle, Wal-Mart, et al., No. 00CV352 (Larimer Co., Colo., Dist. Ct.).
The paintball shooter in the case, Justin Barton, 15, was in a car in 1998 with two other youths when he shot Jorel Lynn Travis, 14, who was standing outside a Fort Collins, Colo., ice cream parlor, with a paintball gun.
The incident left Travis blind in one eye. She and her family settled with Barton, but her case against Brass Eagle Inc., the manufacturer of the gun, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which sold it, went forward.
Paintball is a growing sport, with more than 7 million players, according to www.nationalpaintball.com/, an online seller of paintball equipment. Players fire capsules from large guns, also known as "markers," that fire at 200 to 300 feet per second.
The plaintiff's strict liability and negligence complaint against Brass Eagle and Wal-Mart alleged the manufacture of a defective product and failure "to disclose the product's hidden and unexpected power and risk of blindness if the directions are not followed."
Brass Eagle and Wal-Mart, both based in Bentonville, Ark., allegedly were negligent in respect to the "design, manufacture, user instructions, marketing, sale and inadequate warning."
Brass Eagle, the manufacturer of the marker, includes a safety warning with the gun that instructs owners to "always wear eye, face, and ear protection designed to specifically stop paintballs," according to its Web site. Since Justin Barton had purchased the gun and had access to these warnings, the jury found in favor of the defendants, O'Donnell noted.
SAFETY WARNINGS
According to O'Donnell, the safety warnings are there to provide people with necessary precautions, including protective masks that cover the eyes and ears. O'Donnell said that although the impact may sting, the sport is safe.
Plaintiff's attorney Peter Dusbabek of Denver's Montgomery, Kolodny, Amatuzio and Dusbabek sees the safety warnings as ineffective. "The warnings don't comply," Dusbabek said. Thousands of players have been injured, he said. He said that the targeting of minors presents an increased danger.
In a 1997 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration statement, Brass Eagle said that it was expanding its market to include "less experienced" players who "may participate in paintball in private yards and other less remote areas."
The statement said that the company anticipated an increase of products liability suits. Dusbabek said that the risk of injuries significantly increases in off-range situations.
Dusbabek acknowledged that the sport may be safe if played in a "controlled" situation, but he said that the young men who purchase a majority of the guns typically do not play in the controlled areas.
I really think that kid who shot the gun should be locked away. It really sucks that in America, there is this notion floating around that "it is never your fault." We have had so many suits filed against large companies for not providing warnings for no-brainer situations (i.e. Coffee is HOT and can therefore burn your genitals!). In addition, how can you sue for "marketing" towards a certain group? If the toy is dangerous, parents should step in and make sure that the kid knows about safety.
It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
These punks were not paintballers. They were yahoos with paintball guns instead of slingshots.
I have a personal motto:
If I like it, enjoy it and really become involved in it, someone, somewhere, organized in numbers wants to destroy it through legislative and/or judicial means. Maybe I should take up flower arranging or something safe...
Still Using Air - I believe that's possibly the origin of the above saying. - ["It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye."]
That phrase actually dates back to the ancient olympic games. An event called "pankration" was a mix of boxing and wrestling. EVERYTHING but biting and eye-gouging was permitted. Sometimes this rule was broken, and someone would lose and eye, hence the famous (and old) phrase.
Pankration still survives to this day, although in small numbers of participants. There is a movement to get it back into the modern olympics, but it's a long shot. The wussies would rather stick to ballroom dancing as a sport.
No !...... you'll put yer eye out !!!
Stay Safe
How about 5 feet? I have a month-old, circular-shaped scar on my left deltoid right now from taking one at that distance - with BDU's on!
You're right - you develop respect REAL quick! I've noticed new players will sometimes TRY to draw fire during their first game. After getting tagged, they hunker behind everything on the second game...
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