Who would be held responsible if a young child fell off a ledge at the Grand Canyon?

Don’t think that it doesn’t happen. Here’s some of the data.

Depending on where you are in the canyon it could easily happen. Many narrow, treacherous trails.If it was at a guard railed/ fenced look out point the parents should notice if little Timmy is teetering on the edge of the rail. lol

At a scenic viewing spot with a rail, I expect the rail to have small spaces and enough height that it’s almost impossible for a child to squeeze through. When I was little, and even now, my mom would not let me lean on a rail. I grew up with terraces way up in the air in tall buildings, and pretty much we didn’t touch the rail.

But, mostly, I’d say it’s a matter of shit happens. In two seconds a kid can get himself into trouble while the parent looks away or spaces out for a moment. I always say children under 5 are suicidal. It’s like their soul is trying to go back. They go to pools when they can’t swim, put metal in electrical outlets, and dance near the edge of a cliff.

A child falling over a cliff would be a terrible tragedy, but it might also be the case that no one is responsible.

Not that a lawsuit mightn’t happen anyway. One of the curses of our time is the misguided notion that if something bad happens, somebody owes somebody money.

@CWOTUS Hmm Now I know why some people wear helmets if they decide to go on a donkey to go down the canyon. I remember seeing that and thinking, it’s not going to help you if you fall. But then again if the horse gets hit with a rock, again, the helmet won’t help you.
@Jeruba at the park they give you a ton of warnings. So much so that you wonder if being 25 feet away from the edge is far enough. I remember some people taking pictures near the railing at one of the points and assuring their partner it was safe. I said, not if that slab of stone it is in has eroded below. Everything at the park is pretty much, covered by signs saying enter at your own risk. On my trip there, someone died but it was in a car accident. There was a suddenly cold day and we got like 2 inches of fresh snow and sleet. The day before was in the 80’s in Vagas. That day at the canyon the temperature had dropped to 30.

Superman if he overslept that day?

In the case of the zoo/gorilla/mother/kid, blame has to be attached & proven somewhere because that’s how shit gets sorted in order to prevent a repeat tragedy

This question reminds me of pit bull ‘attacks’ on kids.
If a guardian looses sight of an infant and it gets into a yard where a dog kills it, it’s the dog’s fault because it’s a killing machine. Not the guardian’s because they sadly lost track of the child. Same child falls down a well or in this case off a cliff it’s STILL the responsibility of the person responsible for the child.
Sadly, it seems young children spend the majority of their time trying to kill themselves. U can’t take your eyes off of them.
Lots of child tragedies have lots of similarities. They all say ‘I turned my back for one moment’ but sadly a moment is plenty of time for a child to inadvertently kill themselves…

On a lighter note. Gravity is to blame…...

In addition, I feel I should have mentioned that the parent or ultimate legal guardian for the child has an obligation to make sure that whomever they give their children to for a trip to the grand Canyon should be someone they trust not to let them be unattended in such a place. If you know someone isn’t a respectable, or responsible person DON’T THINK THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN. Sometimes I bet parents whom have been victim to such atrocities look back and KNOW they should never have trusted THAT person. They get greedy sometimes for personal time and use a sitter whom they know they shouldn’t trust and then something happens they cannot reverse. Then it’s a tragedy.

I’ve visited that incredibly beautiful site many times and can tell you it’s incredibly easy to fall off the edge. There are protected areas along the rim, but for the most part, at least on the Arizona side where I’ve been, most of it is totally open and straight down.

There are plenty of warning signs, but that doesn’t keep people from taking risks I can’t believe with my own eyes—both while trying to get closer looks down and by taking photos.

Given that, I find it hard to believe it’s not the fault of the person who goes over or heaven forbid allows a child or other family member to do so.

Whether you just turned away for a second or are sitting there taking duckfaced selfies, something happens to your child the responsibility is on you. That’s what you sign up for when you make the choice to be responsible for another human being for 18 years.

This reminds me of the child who recently got in with the ape (was it an ape?) at the zoo and they shot the ape dead. The child slipped through the rail. The mother had 4 children with her. In 38 years no child has ever breached the rail. Is it the zoo’s fault, or the mom’s fault?

My friend’s daughter was at my friend’s house with her 2 year old (my friend’s grandchild). Mommy and baby fell asleep in the bedroom. When mom woke up the 2 year old wasn’t in the bed anymore, he was dead in the backyard pool. He had drowned. They assume he got out through the doggie door. Whose fault? Mommy? Grandma for not having a pool alarm or pool baby fence? Grandma and mom for having a doggie door?

Another friend was having a party and she suddenly realized her nephew wasn’t in sight. He was drowning in the pool. One party participant jumped in, revived him, and the boy is alive today. What if he had died?

Helmets protect a rider’s head in falls to the ground from the vehicle (or animal) being ridden, @Pandora. (No, obviously, not falls from great height to the floor of the canyon.)

But in a place such as a canyon, the helmet also helps to protect against small rocks falling from above, which is also a common enough occurrence.

Accidents happen which is one very good reason to think long and hard before taking a child to the potentially dangerous environment of the Grand Canyon. Parents are responsible for themselves and for the children in their care and I can’t see what is so difficult about this concept.

I’m glad I didn’t see the Grand Canyon until I was in my 30’s. Any younger than that and I probably wouldn’t have been able to appreciate the scale, the beauty and historical enormity the Canyon presented for the human race in exploring America.

That said, if adults choose to take children into inherently dangerous situations, then the adult is ultimately responsible for the child’s welfare.
On the other hand, I’d be concerned that the park officials didn’t have something in place to prevent someone from throwing a child-sized parcel into the Grand Canyon.

Both child welfare and vandalism/terrorism are legitimate concerns in this scenario, but the responsibility is clearly in different hands.

@ibstubro – It’s my understanding that it would be not only prohibitively expensive, but also damaging to the ecosystem if they constructed a tempered glass shield to cover the entire canyon, in order to prevent people falling/jumping in.

I understand that, @Seek. But they can and do confine most visitors to certain areas.
Those are the only areas I’m familiar with, so I’ll add that caveat to my answer.
I was prepared to discuss this on my Cincinnati Zoo gorilla question and I tried to adapt.

Ultimately, I believe the responsibility for a young child rests in the care of the adult that has accepted the responsibility for introducing the child to the danger.
Like @JLeslie, I remember being prohibited from touching railings for anything more than balance when I was a kid.