You have recently been hired as a marketing communications and public relations spokesperson for the Frontier Entertainment Theme Parks company.

The company is the owner/operator of 20 theme parks venues throughout the United States and Canada. These are traditional theme parks with rides, arcade style games, and live entertainment such as wild west gun fight reenactments.

The week after you are hired a 65 year old guest at the park, Buffalo Bill's Wild Wild West Adventure, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma suffered a fatal hear attack after riding on the parks major roller coaster, the Rattlesnake.

The ride is described as a high thrill roller coaster through the wild west and involves high speeds, loud noises, and thrilling special effects. There is a small sign posted at the entrance to the ride that says in black and white print, "Patrons who are pregnant, suffer from cardiovascular issues, or have other serious medical conditions should not ride this ride. Participation in this ride, constitutes 'assumption of the risk,' and the company bears no responsibility for individual health risks that may occur.

The guest that died was named Jim Mazza. He was visiting the park with his wife, children, and grandchildren who were visiting him from out of state. They decided to take the grandchildren to the park as a treat for having traveled by car over 600 miles. Jim was a retired FBI agent, who was in reasonably good health for his age, and he had never experienced heart issues prior to the attack.

On the day of the incident, Jim, his children, and grandchildren boarded the ride and at the conclusion of the ride, he was suffering sever chest pain. One of the ride attendants helped him out of the coaster, and he was obviously in distress. The attendant called the park medical office which was located at the front gate at the opposite end of the park.

It took five minutes for the park emergency medical technicians to reach Jim by golf cart with their defibrillator medical device. As they approached, Jim was in full arrest, and the emt's used the device to no avail. There was not a device located at the ride itself.

Jim was transported to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The press were alerted to the incident by a bystander at the park, and you were dispatched to meet with them, and provide the following statement:

"We at Frontier Entertainment are deeply concerned about the well being of all our guest. Our hearts and prayer are with Mr. Mazza's family during this tragic time. We are here to help support the Mazza family. At this time, we are assessing the situation, and will not be able to answer any questions. However, we will hold another press conference shortly when we have more information to share. Thank you."

Following the press event, you met with the company's officers in the board room including the company's attorney, Brad Morelli.

Brad's position is that Mr. Mazza assumed the risk, and that the company is not negligent or liable, and therefore, should not engage in any talk of settlement.

The company's vice president for finance, Robert Land, expressed concern that a lengthy lawsuit would affect the company's financials, and ultimately its stock price.

The president of the company, has turned to you and asked for your advise based on what has been said from a marketing and public relations standpoint. He specifically asked if this will affect park ticket sales if the company doesn't settle? Will it harm the company's image, or will the company appear weak and vulnerable if they settle. How will a settlement amount affect perception (will one that is too small seem stingy or one that is too large invite more lawsuits) of the company?

Base your answer on a totality of the circumstances, an analysis of the facts, and on a valid ethical theory.