Measure would absolve cities of liability for injuries on waterway trail
First substitute SB98, sponsored by Rep. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, progressed to a third reading on the Senate floor Monday by 25-4 vote.
Buttars said the bill stems from concerns expressed by city officials in South Jordan and Riverton over the potential for lawsuits filed by those who are injured on city trails along ditches, canals, streams and rivers.
The cities are seeking some protection from lawsuits over accidents beyond their control that may occur while a person is walking, running or jogging on the trails.
"This is one of those things that you think shouldn't happen," Buttars said, "but in litigious America, you have a lot of different things (happen)."
A lawsuit from a person who falls down and breaks an arm or a leg while running along a city trail is the type of potential litigation the bill seeks to prevent, he said.
However, municipalities would be liable in cases of negligence, such as failing to properly maintain a trail, Buttars said.
South Jordan spokesman Chip Dawson said areas along canals are "great assets" to a city as open space and trail routes, "but they kind of lie dormant because of the threat of lawsuits that exists."
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