Vodopest v. MacGregor

— This case involves a summary judgment which dismissed a negligence action based on an exculpatory clause in a preinjury release. We are faced with the question whether preinjury releases which bar a cause of action for negligence in the context of a medical research project violate public policy.

Facts

Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant are nurses and mountain trekkers. In the fall of 1989, Patricia Vodopest (Plaintiff) read an article in The Mountaineer magazine entitled "Breathe Like a Sherpa at High Altitudes” written by Rosemary MacGregor (Defendant). The article described a 1989…