NASCAR Fans To Sue After Horrific Daytona Crash Injures Three; NASCAR ‘Unaware Of Any Lawsuits Filed’

NASCAR fans plan to sue the racing corporation, after 3 spectators were injured last week during a race at the Daytona Motor Speedway, just a day before the famous Daytona 500 was held at the same track.

Matt Morgan, the Orlando-based lawyer for injured fans, said at Tuesday news conference that the case to sue NASCAR would focus on the safety fence used along Daytona International Speedway track. He said that he and the injured fans hope to reach a settlement with NASCAR to avoid a lawsuit, according to Fox News.

However, law experts say the attorney and NASCAR fans could face obstacles in winning damages.

More than 30 race spectators were injured last Saturday Feb. 23 after a horrific wreck in the NASCAR race sent debris, including a tire and pieces of a racecar's engine, into the stands and fans of the event.

According to CNN, at least 28 fans were involved when about a dozen cars crashed in the final curve of the Nationwide race series in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Some of the debris flew over a 22-foot-high fence built in 2010, and some passed through the fence itself after a car slammed into it, shredding the fence before slamming back onto the track.

Morgan declined to identify clients, but he said that two were seated directly in front of the crash and were injured with a fractured fibula and abdominal swelling. All have been released form the hospital.

Some say that there are grounds for suit, and that courts have looked past liability waivers written on the backs of sporting event tickets that 'protects' the event organizer from being sued. Others maintain that the ticket represents a legal contract that could be difficult to overcome.

Morgan said, "Ultimately, I believe it would be gross negligence. We all know that when you go to a race you assume a certain amount of risk. But what people don't assume is that a racecar will come flying into the stands...that's why they make the fences."

NASCAR spokesman David Higdon wrote in a statement, "We are unaware of any lawsuits filed," when asked to comment on the fans' potential legal action.

University of Florida emeritus law professor Joseph Little commented on the ticket's possibility to shield the NASCAR Corporation from damages.

"If it's just something written on the back of the ticket and not called to the attention of the person purchasing, there's reason to believe many courts in Florida won't hold that they consented [to the risk of attending the sporting event] efficiently," he said, according to Fox News.

Others, like adjunct University of Miami School of Law professor Paul Huck, maintain that contract law could take precedence.

"A ticket to one of these events is like a contract - and its provisions limiting liability are generally enforceable. We enter into these types of contracts on a regular basis, and we often don't give it a second thought that we may be limiting or even giving up certain rights when we do so."

Morgan is adopting the theory that the fence's manufacturer at Daytona would be 'very much responsible' for the accident, because it was foreseeable that debris could go through a fence with holes in it.

He referenced a 2009 crash at NASCAR'S Talladega speedway in which a car that launched into the catch fence sent debris into the stands, injuring fans.

"At that point in time a group of engineers got together and they said 'It's time for us to manufacture a safer fence.' To my knowledge, that was done. But what we have to investigate at this point in time is what was done...If you can ever point to monetary considerations being put ahead of people, then there's a big problem," Morgan said.

Other law experts predict that NASCAR will try to settle with the injured fans to salvage the corporation's public image. 

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