Caspers Park Ban on Minors Is Tragic and Unjustifiable

As an attorney who formerly defended the County of Sacramento in personal injury cases, I understand the liability concerns that the County of Orange has following the $2-million jury verdict in the Laura Small case. However, the board’s decision to close the park to children is a completely unjustifiable overreaction to that verdict. In making this decision, the board has set a terrible precedent and done a tremendous disservice to the residents of Orange County.

The reason Laura Small won her case is because the jury concluded (incorrectly, in my view) that prior to the attack, the county knew or should have known that mountain lions posed a threat to humans in Caspers Wilderness Park and that the county failed to warn the public about that threat. Therefore, the county lost the lawsuit because it failed to properly warn the public, not simply because the attack occurred. Legally, the county is not an insurer against all accidents; in this context, the law only imposes a duty upon the county to warn the public about known dangerous conditions.

As anyone who has visited Caspers Wilderness Park recently knows, the county has erected a multitude of signs warning the public about the threat and danger posed by mountain lions. By erecting these signs, the county has fulfilled its duty to warn the public of the threats posed by mountain lions.

If people choose to accept the risk despite the warning and are injured in the future as a result, the county will not be held accountable. Therefore, the closure of the park to children goes far beyond what is necessary to protect the county from liability. The county is already properly protected.

I urge the public to demand that the county reverse its decision because the decision simply cannot be justified under the guise that the county is concerned about liability.

THOMAS P. APLIN, Irvine