Deer, Racetracks, and Torts

There is a very unfortunate story out of Road America, a racetrack located in Elkhart Wisconsin:

There are many ways that driver can get injured in an open-wheel racing car. A 100-mph collision with a deer isn't one that usually comes to mind.

But that's the fate that befell Cristiano da Matta on Thursday during a routine test day at Road America. According to witnesses, the 32-year old Brazilian's RuSPORT Racing Lola struck the animal after it darted onto the track from the driver's right on the uphill run to the blind, left-hand Turn 6. The impact knocked da Matta unconscious [and he suffered a ruptured blood vessel on the surface of the brain and remains in critical condition] . . .

Road America media director Julie Sebranek said she had never heard of a similar incident at the track. "The race track has been here for 50 years. It's highly, highly unusual," Sebranek said Friday.

An 8-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire circles the 628-acre property, which is surrounded by wooded terrain and farm fields.

When asked how the deer got onto the property, Sebranek said: "They have been known to jump the 8-foot fences. It's just a freak thing and we just maintain the property as we do on a daily basis."

Attorney John Powers has some interesting torts questions based on these facts:

1) Does a racetrack owe a duty to its drivers to keep the track in safe condition?
2) Is a deer running onto the track foreseeable?
3) How high are the fences?
4) How high can deer jump?
5) Do racetracks make drivers sign waivers?

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