As per Sports Illustrated,
A jury in a St. Louis Circuit Court on Tuesday awarded former NFL running back Reggie Bush $12.5 million in damages for injuries he sustained as a result of slipping onto an uncovered—and slippery—concrete surface in St. Louis’s Edward Jones Dome on Nov. 1, 2015. . . Jurors reasoned that the Rams negligently permitted and maintained a dangerous condition to exist in the Dome, thereby creating an unreasonable risk of injury to players.
The case highlights an area of the law know as premises liability.
The incident occurred on a play when Bush, who at the time was playing for the San Francisco 49ers, returned a punt. After being pushed out of bounds, Bush could not stop his momentum on the turf. Surrounding the turf was a circular area of concrete known ominously as “the concrete ring of death.” Propelled by his momentum, Bush ran from the turf onto the concrete. He then slipped and fell very hard. As Bush landed awkwardly on the concrete, he suffered a season-ending tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
As is true of all landowners:
. . .sports facilities owe a duty to invited guests—which include players, cheerleaders, coaches, referees and journalists—to remove or warn of any dangerous conditions and to maintain the playing surface and surrounding areas so that they are reasonably safe.
