CPRE Risk Management and Legal Compliance 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A park district receives a claim that a patron slipped on an unmarked wet floor inside a recreation center. Under premises liability law, which element is MOST critical for the plaintiff to establish negligence?
- The patron was a paying member of the facility
- The agency had actual or constructive notice of the hazard (Correct answer)
- The injury occurred during normal business hours
- The patron did not sign a liability waiver
Correct answer: The agency had actual or constructive notice of the hazard
Premises liability negligence requires proof that the agency knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to correct it.
Question 2: Which federal law requires public recreation agencies to make reasonable modifications to policies and procedures to accommodate individuals with disabilities?
- Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II (Correct answer)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Rehabilitation Act Section 504
Correct answer: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II
ADA Title II applies specifically to state and local government entities, including public parks and recreation departments, mandating program accessibility.
Question 3: A recreation supervisor discovers that a volunteer youth sports coach has not completed a required background check. What is the MOST appropriate immediate action?
- Allow the coach to continue while the background check is processed
- Document the gap and notify the coach at the end of the season
- Remove the coach from direct participant contact until the check is cleared (Correct answer)
- Suspend the entire program pending a policy review
Correct answer: Remove the coach from direct participant contact until the check is cleared
Child protection protocols require removing individuals from participant-facing roles until mandatory screening requirements are fully satisfied.
Question 4: An agency's risk manager uses a risk matrix to prioritize hazards. Which combination correctly describes a HIGH-priority risk requiring immediate mitigation?
- Low likelihood, high severity
- High likelihood, low severity
- High likelihood, high severity (Correct answer)
- Low likelihood, low severity
Correct answer: High likelihood, high severity
Risk matrices classify high-priority risks as those with both high probability of occurrence and high potential severity of harm.
Question 5: Under governmental immunity doctrine, which circumstance most commonly allows a plaintiff to successfully sue a public recreation agency?
- The agency performed a proprietary function rather than a governmental function (Correct answer)
- The injury occurred on park property rather than inside a building
- The injured party is a non-resident of the jurisdiction
- The agency carries general liability insurance
Correct answer: The agency performed a proprietary function rather than a governmental function
Many states distinguish governmental functions (protected by immunity) from proprietary functions (revenue-generating activities treated like private business), which waive immunity.
Question 6: A park agency wants to transfer risk for a contracted vendor operating a food concession. Which risk management technique is MOST appropriate?
- Conducting an annual safety audit of the vendor
- Requiring the vendor to carry adequate liability insurance and name the agency as additional insured (Correct answer)
- Posting signs disclaiming agency liability near the concession stand
- Training agency staff to monitor vendor operations daily
Correct answer: Requiring the vendor to carry adequate liability insurance and name the agency as additional insured
Contractual risk transfer through insurance requirements and additional insured status shifts financial liability exposure from the agency to the vendor.
Question 7: Which document formally establishes the scope of safety expectations between a park agency and a participant before a high-adventure activity?
- Incident report form
- Informed consent and assumption of risk agreement (Correct answer)
- Program registration card
- Emergency action plan
Correct answer: Informed consent and assumption of risk agreement
An informed consent and assumption of risk agreement discloses inherent dangers and documents that the participant voluntarily accepts those risks.
CPRE Risk Management and Legal Compliance 4
A park district receives a claim that a patron slipped on an unmarked wet floor inside a recreation center.
Under premises liability law, which element is MOST critical for the plaintiff to establish negligence?