Hotspringer Misfortune/Legal Liability

Katrina recently brought up a point of view regarding the legal responsibility of a private business owner . It appears that her arguement does have some merit. I had dinner recently with an attorney friend and our conversation and the topic of discussion turned to the recent unfortunate incident involving a lost hiker who froze to death. He stated that if a lack directions to the parking area were a significant factor in this persons death, the buisness owner could indeed be held liable in a wrongful death case.
He continued by saying that this case had merit, even though the hiker got lost on public lands. The lack of directions to return to the parking area where a fee was paid would be solid ground from which to argue a case in court. My friend also said a case like this would probably settle out of court as the insurance company would try to settle it without an expensive court process.
Although Mojave brought up the point that Katrina was trying to exploit this hikers misfortune to further a personal grudge, her assessment of the legal liability is correct according to my friend. As he has been in practice for over 20 years, I trust his opinion.