Your group has been contacted by Bobbi Buff, owner of Athletic Training Company, which caters to the training and recovery of elite athletes. Bobbi would like your group to look over the facts at hand and help her determine the merits of the case and provide proactive recommendations to prevent this type of incident in the future.

Facts

Tanya Tall, has just signed a contract with the LA Sparks for 5 million and will start playing at the beginning of the upcoming season. Tanya has been working out under the guidance of a team trainer and a trainer at the Athletic Training Company.

In February, Tanya was working out at the ATC, with a trainer, and was lifting two 40-pound dumbbells above her chest while resting her upper back on top of an exercise ball. The ball, which had been marketed as being able to withstand 600 pounds and being 'burst resistant', was purchased from a well-known equipment manufacturer. After a few repetitions, the ball split down the side and instantly deflated. Tanya, fell forcibly to the ground and suffered serious injuries including a fractured forearm, displaced shoulder, and two broken wrists.

Bobbi has cleaning and inspection records but they do not specifically identify each piece of equipment, she is also unsure of when this exercise ball was purchased

Issue: Bobbi has been approached by a lawyer for Tanya and a lawyer from the team. The team is seeking reimbursement of the salary that has already been paid to Tall. Tall is suing for the damages caused by the injuries, pain and suffering, and loss in future earning capacity. The plaintiff's lawsuit asserted a litany of allegations against the various defendants, including claims that the exercise ball was not properly designed and manufactured. Since AT was not responsible for manufacturing or designing the ball, that claim was quickly dismissed by the court.

However, Tanya is claiming that ATC negligently maintained and inspected the exercise ball prior to the incident, thus creating the dangerous condition that caused the accident as well as negligently instructed and supervised her when having her perform this dangerous exercise. Tanya is also claiming that no one at AT never warned her about the dangers of using exercise balls while weight training and if they did she would have performed alternative exercises.These claims are based upon the instructions the manufacturer provided with the exercise ball that indicated the ball had a commercial-use life expectancy of one year. The instructions also stated the user should check "for wear on the ball" before each use and immediately discard the ball if its surface has any nicks, cuts or scratches, because such defects could weaken the ball and possibly result in the ball deflating during use and that users are 'warned not to use the ball while lifting weights'.

What are the elements of Negligence?

What are some of the facts that support the Plaintiff's Claim of Negligence?

What is a court case that supports this analysis of the plaintiffs' claims?