(Photo by Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Leave it to lawyers to see the downside in any new trend. You may be having fun, reliving your childhood playing Pokémon Go — and perhaps even getting in some unexpected exercise — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers out there for the unsuspecting player. And Professor Gerry Beyer of Texas Tech Law School is happy to remind players (via Fox News) that they could pay the ultimate cost for playing the game:
“Death by Pokemon is coming,” warns Gerry Beyer, Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law. “Pokemon users will have all sorts of accidents as they use the program while walking, biking, driving, etc.”
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And facts seem to bear out the professor’s warning, as almost from the moment of the game’s release, reports of injuries of distracted players began to filter through.
And that’s to say nothing of more adventurous players that have taken to ignoring property rights in their quest to catch them all:
In addition to the accident risks, Texas Tech University’s Beyer warns that trespassing “Pokemon Go” players could be putting their lives in danger. “I also fear that Pokemon trespassers may be considered home invaders by property owners and injured or even killed by owners who believe they are defending their property and life,” he told FoxNews.com, via email.
“The Pokemon user certainly will be liable for trespassing (and any other damages he or she causes) to the property owners,” he added.
And this was before reports of the first Pokémon-related shooting. Fortunately, no one appears to be injured, but two teens playing the game in their pulled-over car were mistaken for burglars and a homeowner shot up their car. And those kids weren’t even trespassing.
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Things are crazy out there, so be careful — and keep trying to catch a Vaporeon.
Death by Pokemon? Public safety fears mount as ‘Pokemon GO’ craze continues [Fox News]
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, comments, or the best place in NYC to catch a Jigglypuff and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).