Event Organizers Sued After Slip-and-Fall on Rubber Mat

Running
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Originally published at: Event Organizers Sued After Slip-and-Fall on Rubber Mat - Slowtwitch News

A Pennsylvania woman and her husband have sued event organizers following a slip-and-fall incident at a November 2024 race.

Belinda Brown and Larry Robinson filed suit against Pittsburgh Associates — the business entity of Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates — following Brown’s injuries sustained at the Running of the Pierogis, part of Pittsburgh’s 63rd annual Light Up Night, last fall.

The suit alleges that Brown fell due to a “dangerous, defective, hazardous and/or unsafe condition” at the race: an “unsecured wet and slippery rubber mat” located at the starting line. Rubber mats or carpets are frequently used to cover timing equipment at start or finish lines.

According to the suit, Brown suffered a fractured shoulder and other soft-tissue injuries that may require surgery as a result of the alleged negligence. It also claims that Brown has suffered emotional trauma.

The suit seeks recovery for Brown’s injuries stemming from the fall, as well as her husband’s damages for “loss of consortium.” You can read the full text of the suit here.

The Running of the Pierogis is a smaller scale version of the races that occur at Pirates home games. There, multiple people attempt to race while dressed in oversized pierogi costumes. At the event in question, it was a one-on-one affair, as depicted here.

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May require surgery? When i broke my collarbone i did not wait 5 months to fix it

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I’d like to know more on this? What kind of trauma?

Fear of stepping over wet rubber mats, suddenly? That would kind of make sense, actually

Now, if she’s developed some new concern regarding pierogis, or any other dumpling variations, that might have to be investigated

Ask me about the Dunkin Donuts guy, sometime - it’s around here, someplace

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America is a weird place as someone looking in from the outside. I assume they’re suing in this case because of medical bills? Or is this just something you do because some lawyer has seen $$$?

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Medical bills + “pain and suffering” + hope for a jury award of punitive damages = getting a settlement north of the value of the medical bills.

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Usually it’s some idiot the plaintiff-to-be trusts (for whatever reason) and takes them seriously (again, for whatever reason) when said idiot advises “you should sue those fuckers!!!” even before the lawyers come in

Also, in my experience, it’s not the mat itself that’s slippery, but whatever branding is painted on it

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america is a weird place. if someone is negligent, and causes injury to others, they should compensate for those injuries.

you can drive like a buffoon, cause someone to wreck, and literally your punishment is your insurance goes 50 bucks a month for 5-7 years. for the majority of people, they are not going to even notice the difference.

breaking your clavicle does not always mean immediate surgery, some opt to see if it heals on its own, depending on the fracture. some, might not be able to afford health insurance.

what if this person is a laborer? now they are out of work. it’s america, they may not have enough sick time built up, or work in a union. for all we know, he could have lost his job by now.

pain and suffering/emotional suffering? yeah, that’s a real fucking thing. i’ve treated thousands of patients who had their life totally turned upside down because some dickwad was texting and driving. you damn well bet i’m going to sue your ass for more than medical bills. if you cause me to lose more than 1 day of my regular life, doing shit like rehab, surgery, oh man, you better be ready to lawyer up.

lets put it this way. i’m going to hit you with a car, cause you physical harm, you’ll need surgery, be out of work for 6 months, maybe lose your job, and be a burden on your entire family. you also won’t be able to swim, bike, or run for 6 months, and it’ll take you another 6 months to a year to get back into the same physical shape you were.

how much would i have to pay you for me to do that to you? that number, is what people deserve when others are dingleberries.

people talk about americans lawyering up, i don’t think it happens enough, or is successful enough. that’s why people are always cutting corners.

last year, my wife and i had just moved to slc. we were super excited to go mountain biking while the weather was cool and before the snow came. some dumb 25 year old was texting and driving and plowed into the back of our car. i got it all on dashcam. i had a sore back for 2 weeks, our bumper was destroyed, and our brand new bike rack was mangled. we spent countless of hours frustrated on the phone with insurance to get reimbursement for a new rack, we had to fight tooth and nail to use the repair shop we wanted, and my wife had a sore neck that lingered for 3 months.

that same girl? nothing. after proclaiming she was on her phone and exchanging numbers, she stopped responding to me, and told insurance i stopped abruptly at the stop light. luckily we had it all on the dash cam. car was registered to daddy, (she was driving a 2017 bmw), who likely still pays her insurance. you would have to pay me 10k to go through that experience again… my wife, hah… unless you’re paying her 50k, she would never ever do that again (assuming the outcomes were exactly the same).

people will hear 60k for a “fender bender”, all i hear is justice served.

i’ve been to countless races where timing mats are all kinds of jank. at the starting like, when there are thousands of folks starting, you sometimes don’t even see it coming. i’ve always thought, someone is going to get fucked up one day, and here we are. (note, haven’t read the case)

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I would advise against trying to apply logic, for your own best interests

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Ok, you also sign a race waiver that you are participating at your own risk

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Yes, and those pieces of paper aren’t worth much of anything.

Nor do those waivers absolve you, as an event organizer, of certain acts.

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Was the plaintiff and her husband actually dressed as a pierogi?

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Based on my understanding of how the event works at Light Up Night – no. There are individuals dressed as the pierogis, and then individuals who try to race against them on the short little stretch as depicted in the picture above. You can actually see the rubber mat in question if you zoom in a little bit.

I doubt it was for timing – probably electrical for something else as part of the event, which then had a rubber covering over it similar to a timing mat.

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yeah but that doesn’t mean a race director can knowlingly have oil on the course and just ignore it. an attempt has to be made.

a waiver protects people from random stuff. it doesn’t protect from negligence.

i sign a waiver to go to top golf, but if they have a platform that is unstable that can cause people to fall off the platform, that doesn’t mean they are good and dandy cus i signed a waiver.

there is a difference between a slippery timing mat, and a timing mat put together so poorly that it falls apart within 10 runners. i’ve seen duct tape placed over timing pats to protect/cover cords. you know, the same material that is not meant to be run on, especially not when wet.

maybe i’m biased because i spent so many years treating peopel for the dumbest injuries. a little thing like this could literally ruin someones life. you don’t always recover and get back to your regular physical self.

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I neglected to disclose that D’Wife works for an insurance company; she deals mostly in auto, sometimes home; less often motorcycle and RV

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They need to paint "pick your fucking feet up and stop scuffing yer shoes’ on the mat.

Typical Septic failing to take any personal responsibility and blaming anyone else they can.

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How about simply thinking ‘there’s a rubber mat there. it might be slippery. I should just hop over it, or be extra careful’

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lol, are you triggered by my opinion? ffs, it’s the internet bruh. chill out.

everyone is all huff and puff until neglect happens to them and they feel like they deserve the world.