After the Carl – Brad dance, an attorney from Salem, North Carolina made note in an interview with SceneDaily that had Brad Keselowski or a fan been injured from the intentional act that Carl Edwards took on Brad, that could have been grounds for criminal assault.
As noted in Georgia law, the definition of aggravated assault is “with a deadly weapon or with any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury.” Which sounds much like when Carl went hunting for Brad.
By that in mind, they noted that NASCAR makes tracks carry a $50 million policy for accidental scenarios that include spectator injury, property damage, participant liability and product liability.
I get where the law-minded attorneys are coming from. There are laws designed to keep some in check, and to have the “unsub” properly penalized.
Yet they are lawyers. Much like it’s a doctor’s job to dispense pills, and a chiropractor to recommend massage, so too might a lawyer see these scenarios as potential criminal acts.
The bottom line in this act with Edwards and Keselowski is the intent, but also by participating, one concedes to on-track scenarios that might come up with the emotion of sporting events. The competition.
Personally, lawyers make everything pretty much prohibitive. There are perfectly good reasons to need one, but they also create scenarios that would need them.
In the old-school days, if you made an off-color, sex-themed joke, it’s just a joke. Today, if you do that, and someone finds it offensive, they have a case.
We’re becoming a society of words and pacifists. One of the appeals of NASCAR is the “eye for an eye” ethics, where a driver gets dumped, they will, sooner or later, dump the other driver back.
But then again, when Edwards came down on Brad at Talladega, well, Edwards came down on him. At Altanta, when Edwards came down on Brad… huh, sniff, sniff… do I smell a pattern?
Not sure really, we don’t see everything that happens that isn’t on camera, but in NASCAR, the only real place that lawyers are truly needed are in wrangling those $10 million dollar hood sponsors and locking contract stipulations into place. My god, those things can go on and on, regarding every possible angle and potential.
But that’s just me.
The entire article is over on SceneDaily. If you’re get L-bored (Bored by legal angles on things) then this may put you out. But it is interesting, if not scary to think lawyers can actually step in and create a massive bumper-car racing league.
