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Public Liability Insurance: Motorsport is dangerous

You can have signs all over the place and get as many disclaimers signed as you can wave a stick at. But there remains a residual liability for providers of recreational racing.

The go-kart track at Pasar Panjang, Port Dickson in Malaysia was half-way between the fun rides at a fairground and a race track.

It was certainly a long way from the fast karts that breed Formula One drivers.

But it was fun enough for children and 12 year old Amrita Kaur was having a fun day out with her parents.

But, a court has found, Amrita was given a helmet that was the wrong size and she was allowed to drive with her long hair loose.

There have been, in recent years, several cases of women being allowed to drive karts with scarves flying loose, only for them to become entangled in the machinery, killing the driver.

But Amrita was not killed: now 23 she is confined to a wheelchair and for the past 11 years her condition has been both a physical and financial burden to her parents.

Amrita wants to go on to study but has not been able to do so: there are no colleges near her home that have facilities for disabled students. She needs to move about 70km north to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city.But even that will be tough: she is disabled from the chest down and has relied on her parents for everything.

The Court found that not only did the staff fail to prevent her driving with hair loose but also failed to act sufficiently quickly when her hair became entangled, leading to severe complications.

The Court has awarded damages of MYR1 million (about GBP200,000) plus medical expenses incurred at the time.

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