In the first such case to go to trial a civil jury found that Swiss snowboard maker Nidecker was not liable for the 2002 death of 22-year-old Kate Svitek. Svitek's estate had asked the company be held liable because the snowboard's bindings were not release bindings. The company at one time had offered release bindings but stopped because of poor sales. No studies have been done to measure the impact of release bindings. Proponents of the status-quo suggest that the fixed bindings prevent additional injury from a situation where one foot releases and the other foot is still attached to the board.
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Those who have read the media's meagre coverage of this very important trial conducted recently in Portland might do well to get the wholle story.
Look up the recent report from the Wilderness Medical Society on snowboard injuries over the years.
then pay attention to the jurors inthis case and the contradicting statements from the attorney Brad Staford.
If you are 18 yrs old and havent been injured snowboarding, you are most likely to rejoice in this verdict, If, on the other hand , you have been injured, and realize you are not invincible, you might consider.....What harm would befall snowboarding if it became safer for everyone as aresult of the industry embracing releasable technology, something proven to work not only in skiing, but also since 1989 in snowboarding by Meyer bindings?
I happen to hve used these bindings very successfully for over 15 yrs, and if that experience is worth anything at all, all i have to ask is: What is the big fuss about anyway?
Im interested in your comments. dw
How can one foot stay attached to the board when you are on Releaseable bindings? Think about it.
I am an intermediate snowboarder and I am starting to get some injuries in my knees from torque during higher speed falls. I found reference to a legal case about this and am writing to find out if you can give me any advice about using release snowboard bindings or any other technique to reduce risk of knee injury. Thank you.
The only way to prevent foot and leg injuries while snowboarding is using a proven snowboard safety binding, with the TÜV seal-of-approval. Don't listen to the often-heard argument that snowboard safety bindings are more dangerous, because only one foot might release, because both bindings are release bindings. After all ski bindings work the same way, each foot releases when it has to. By the way, the world's fastest snowboarder, Peter Bittner, speed world champion, has been using them for years and has never injured his lower limbs inspite of very high-speed crashes at 100 mph.
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