Re: PCB revisited near a Ca super fund site - public liability

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 12:06 PM 12/4/2006, Tesla list wrote:
> Original poster: "Peter Terren" <pterren@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Here in Australia liability insurance is $10 
> million which is standard. After a day of phone 
> calls, the best cover I could get was $1500 for 
> 6 public shows of a small TC.  Seems a tall 
> price to pay for interest in Science, Physics 
> and Math.  I asked what a Pony club premium was 
> with the risk of making children quadriplegic if 
> they fall off.  The answer: "they pay less".Go figure.

It's the price of supporting our agrarian and 
pastoral heritage. It also helps that there's a 
lot more pony clubs than tesla coils, so they 
have a better feel for the actual risk exposure 
for the pony clubbers. (as in decades, if not 
centuries). While falling off is pretty common 
(yep, done it myself, more than once), serious 
injuries, on a "per exposure" basis are actually 
fairly rare (or at least comparable to a lot of 
other activities).  I was interested to discover 
a few months ago that half of the serious head 
injuries in connection with horses are sustained 
to a person on the ground, not the rider. (kicks, 
etc)  There's also well established procedures in 
the horse business (or, more properly, 
traditions) as to things like how far the 
audience should be, who can go which places when, 
and all that.  People, in general, learned 
centuries ago not to stand right behind a horse. 
(granted I know of people who clearly didn't 
figure this out, even after getting hurt, but 
that's what the Darwin awards are for). The same 
cannot be said of tesla coils.

Jim

It seems that an injury (severe enough to require 
medical treatment) occurs about once per 1000 
exposures for horseback riding. (my own 
experience and that of acquantainces seems to be 
in that sort of ballpark.. out of 50 or so riders 
at my local barn, there's probably one or two 
serious injuries a year).  Since the mandatory 
helmet rules went into effect about 15 years ago 
(for competition in the US), the fraction of head 
injuries has gone down significantly (but neck 
injuries have increased... such is life).

On that basis, being a spectator at a tesla coil 
exhibition is a whole lot less dangerous than participating at a horse show.

A quick google turned up, for instance:

ANZ Journal of Surgery
Volume 73 Issue 5 Page 331 - May 2003
doi:10.1046/j.1445-2197.2003.t01-1-02618.x
Volume 73 Issue 5


Original Article
Spinal and spinal cord injuries in horse riding: 
the New South Wales experience 1976 1996
Justin P. Roe* Thomas K. F. Taylor* Ian A. 
Edmunds* Robert G. Cumming Stephen J. Ruff* Meg 
D. Plunkett-Cole* Marje Mikk§ and Richard F. Jones§

Objectives:  The objective of the present study 
was to determine the incidence of acute spinal 
cord injuries (ASCI) in all forms of horse riding 
in New South Wales (NSW) for the period 1976 
1996. Other aims of the present study were to 
compare and contrast ASCI with vertebral column 
injuries (VCI) without neurological damage and to 
define appropriate safety measures in relation to 
spinal injury in horse-riding.

Design:  A retrospective review was done of all 
ASCI cases (n = 32) admitted to the two acute 
spinal cord injury units in NSW for the cited 
period. A comparable review of VCI cases (n = 30) 
admitted to these centres for the period 1987 1995 was also undertaken.

Results:  A fall in flight was the commonest mode 
of injury in both groups. Occupational and 
leisure riding accounted for 88% of ASCI and VCI. 
The incidence of ASCI is very low in those riding 
under the aegis of the Equestrian Federation of 
Australia two cases in 21 years; and there were 
no cases in the Pony Club Riders or in Riding for 
the Disabled. The difference in the spinal damage 
caused by ASCI and VCI is in degree rather than 
kind. Associated appendicular/visceral injuries were common.

Conclusions:  No measures were defined to improve 
spinal safety in any form of horse riding. The 
possible role of body protectors warrants formal evaluation. Contin