Via the Raleigh News and Observer:
BALD HEAD ISLAND — In June 2003, on his family’s annual vacation to Bald Head Island, 6-year-old Howard Biggers IV fell out of a golf cart.
At first, his family thought he got minor scrapes and bruises, but it quickly became apparent he had suffered a head injury. His parents rushed him off the island, but he nearly died that night, and he never regained normal function.
In August 2004, 14 months after the fall, Howard died from his head injury.
Tragic. But what follows shows that the parents obviously thought they bared no responsibility for Howard’s safety:
Now his parents are suing the village of Bald Head Island — along with its developer, management company and the owner of the house the Biggers family rented — for gross negligence.
Their central allegation: that island officials, and the others, were fully aware of the dangers of golf carts, Bald Head’s primary form of transportation, but, knowing those dangers, failed to require the use of seat belts.
"Plaintiffs [the Biggerses] were never warned … about the significant danger of ejections, which posed a substantial likelihood of injury to occupants … particularly children," says the suit, filed in Meckenburg County Superior Court.
Where does personal responsibility come in to play? It seems that everyone wants to duck it. It was not Bald Head Islands responsibility; it was the parents, who let the child ride in a golf cart. The Howard’s certainly used the golf carts on many occasions: "For years, the family had rented a vacation home for a week on the resort island south of Wilmington…" How fast was the driver of the cart going? Was he/she whipping around corners, like many golfers do? Who was watching out for Howard? And, sometimes, when all is said and done, accidents happen that end in tragedy.
Update: looks like Right Wing News has more on personal responsibility, or, rather, lack thereof.
Is Edwards the lawyer representing the family?