In reviewing this, and many articles related to eye injuries as a
result of a paintball striking a person's eye, it appears that most (if
not all) of the victims of paintball eye injuries are due to the victim's
own failure to use paintball equipment properly, whether it is an adult or
child victim.
It is unfair to condemn the paintball industry for what amounts to
victim's failure to simply read the labels that are affixed on many
paintball products. It is near impossible to cause an eye injury from
paintball if a person is wearing proper goggle/eye protection and the
paintball marker is properly maintained (i.e., not shooting at a velocity
higher than allowed).
For example, if a baseball player did not wear a helmet when batting,
there is a likelihood that he could get struck in the head with a pitch
and suffer a head injury. That is not baseball's fault. Similarly, if
you ride a bicycle without a helmet and/or other protection, you can get
injured because falling is a foreseeable and known risk. That is not the
bicycle industry's fault.
In paintball, the object of a paintball marker is to propel a
paintball in order to mark an intended target. The risks are absolutely
foreseeable that if you don't wear proper eye protection when playing with
a paintball marker, you could potentially suffer an eye injury.
It really demonstrates a lack of responsibility on the part of
alleged victims when they fail to use proper precautions or take proper
safety measures, get injured, then blame the paintball industry. It is
equally irresponsible for medical (or legal) professionals to similarly
blame the industry for injuries sustained by people who simply refused to
take the time to read warning labels and learn proper paintball safety.
While I do not agree with blaming the paintball industry for what I
consider, self-inflicted injuries, there should be something done to
ensure that only adults purchase paintball markers and paintball pellets.
I do not believe this restriction should apply to other paintball related
products, such as goggles, masks and apparel since such a restriction
would not address the issue at hand.
However, in my 15 years of paintball playing experience, I have not
seen a situation where a paintball store sold a paintball marker to
someone who was not the age of majority. This leads me to believe that
the parents who purchase a paintball marker simply pay for it and give it
to their children without any instruction or guidance whatsoever. This is
another issue - parental responsibility. Parents who purchase paintball
products for their children should be vigilant. As stated on most if not
all paintball marker packages, paintball markers are not toys. Don't
leave it with your child to play with unsupervised unless you have taken
the time to properly instruct a child on the proper use of the marker and
related safety equipment. This is simply irresponsible of a parent and it
is they who should be punished for allowing such incident occur simply
because they didn't take the time to learn and teach their kids how to
safely operate a paintball marker.
Kevin Eng
Attorney at law
Co-Captain - SC Venom Paintball Team
Los Angeles, CA
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