Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1982 - 18

functions in light of the tasks you must
carry out in order to receive a salary or
some compensation? Are you truly
qualified? Are you expected to perform
tasks you are not trained or qualified to
do? We know. on both the professional
and volunteer levels. that you are often
assigned tasks out of the realm of your
capability. What is dangerous in these
situations is that we accept such assignments, thus placing ourselves in a potentially liable situation. We are not ruling
out the dangers to others who must work
with us. perhaps more skilled or less
than we are.
2 EQUIPME T CONDITIO . Is
the equipment you are required to use in
excellent condition? Who has certified
that this equipment is in working condition? Who makes that judgment? Are
you required to give it the o.k. or is
someone else? Indeed, what is the safety
record of the equipment? Is the equipment purchased by you or someone else?
What type of quality control exists in the
manufacture and installation of this
equipment? Who is qualified to determine whether the equipment being used
is safe. i.e .. capable of performing the
task for which you will use it and for
which it is manufactured and assigned?
Is it a substitute piece of equipment? Is
there a regular program of preventive
maintenance for all equipment?
We raise these questions because
the area is highly charged with liability
problems. There are products in the Entertainment Industry that are poorly
manufactured, designed, and installed.
If we add to this premise the spector of
improper use by poorly trained personnel, then a situation exists for high
liability. What if the product does not
meet the certifying code for the specific
piece of equipment, and someone is hurt
or injured, maybe even killed? List the
many pieces of equipment used in the
total Entertainment Industry, and you
wi II find items that do not meet the
local, state. or federal codes, or even
those of some well-known testing
laboratories. The cost of the consequences can be astronomical.
3 PERSONAL RESPO, SIBILITY. Someone has to purchase
the equipment and perhaps the cost factor is crucial. Many groups. institutions
and studios. in order to meet a budget.
accept the lowest bid for equipment
without questions. You. the entertainment technician, are not aware of the
criteria for purchasing. It is already
there and you are supposed to use it.
You are expected to use it for the task
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Theatre Design & Technology

you have been hired or assigned to do.
Should the technician go ahead and use
this equipment? Is there time to think
about liability problems? The production is uppermost. What say does the
technician have? To what level of
"legally enforceable obligation."
namely. liability. is the technician subjecting him or herself? Is it possible to
refuse to use the equipment? Yes'
Maybe nothing will ever happen.
Maybe every piece of equipment is kept
up to Code and the preventive maintenance schedule keeps everything in top
shape. Maybe replacements for old.
worn. and malfunctioning equipment
are always there. But this is not usually
the case.
Yes, you can refuse to use the product or the special piece of equipment.
How? On what grounds? You must have
a legitimate reason and suspicion, and
the state and federal regulations will
give you a solid base upon which to act.
You have an obligation. a right. and a
legal responsibility to protect yourself.
and to report any and all suspicions concerning defective and unsafe equipment
which might injure you or place your life
in jeopardy, or the lives of those with
whom you must work. Legally you can
do this and. in a regulatory sense. you
mllst do this. IF you. by your
knowledge, skills, and experience. know
the equipment is potentially hazardous
due to its condition, defect, or poor
quality, and you don't tell the proper
authority at the studio. school, location.
or institution, then you can be liable if
an injury. accident, or fatality occurs.
The burden of proof suddenly shifts to
you if you have been negligent in reporting these situations. (I believe it is even
more of a responsibility in these days of
anti- and deregulation. Hence. we constantly encourage you to scrutinize your
occupation, the equipment you use. and
the criteria for use of that equipment.)
Volunteers and amateurs are in
the same position. Perhaps even more so
since they are not hired. Moreover. the
majority of volunteers and amateurs in
the Entertainment Industry are minors.
A whole new complexion now surfaces
in liability responsibility. These people
are performing some tasks similar to
those of the professional technician.
Negligence can be costly costly
beyond belief. I am warning those
throughout the Entertainment Industry
who do not have liability coverage professionals and amateurs to
examine carefully their total vocational
or volunteer status. Film or television

studio. on location, high school, university. industrial show. concert, photo lab.
or sound studio. and others, are all areas
where en tertainmen t techn icians ply
their skills. and all have major hazardous situations and equipment. and
therefore those who work there must be
covered by liability insurance.
4 RISK. In all the areas a technician works there are risks. As long as
there is human activity toward production there will be major and minor risks.
The technician in the Entertainment Industry deals with PURE RISK: A
chance for loss but no chance for gain.
In the Entertainment Industry we have
the risk of injury (or property damage).
Losses do occur. If a loss does not occur
the production goes on and revenues
will continue to flow. Our pure risk
"can" cause a loss but not give us a
"gain" in our activity. These risks arise
from our technical occupational exposures. You are the skilled technicians
and a liability situation occurs when you
are the cause of injury to someone else.
or property is damaged because of you
or an act you performed. The chance is
always there. purely, for loss. but if loss
occurs there is no gain.
S TYPES OF LIABILITY. Professional liability. personal liability. product liability. completed operations
liability. premise liability, general
liability. and workers compensation the Entertainment technician need not
know what all these types of liabilities
are, nor the particular coverages they
offer, but some knowledge of liability
laws and how they affect him or her.
should be known.
6 PREFACE TO TYPES OF
LIABILITY. Hazard: A condition
which has the potential to cause a loss.
i.e .. a wire rope. a cable. a C-clamp. a
sheave. anything defective or which
might break and cause an injury to a performer or technician or cause property
damage.
7 LIABILITY involves:
a. Pure Risk
b. Exposures
c. Hazards
d. egligence
e. Knowledge or lack of it.
8 PROFESSIO AL LIABILITY.
This is an area which must cause us
great concern. An action or a
catastrophe takes place and that fact
alone is indicative of a potential or
possible negligence on the part of the
designer. builder. or the technician. If a
product is involved and shown to be
defective, then liability is part of the ex-

USITT Fall. 198;

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