Liability waiver

Last updated

A liability waiver is a legal document that a person who participates in an activity may sign to acknowledge the risks involved in their participation. By doing so, the company attempts to remove legal liability from the business or person responsible for the activity.

Contents

In the United States

In the United States, the enforceability of such a waiver depends on state law, a jury, and the language of the waiver. [1] A signed liability waiver is not a blanket exemption from liability for operators of a dangerous activity. [2] Under the law of tort, prior to injury, the specific risk must have been known to and appreciated by the plaintiff in order for primary assumption of risk to apply. [3] Courts may refuse to enforce a general liability waiver if it fails to inform the signer of the specific risk that caused the injury. [2]

Liability waivers include pre-accident releases and model releases (for pictures). Reckless or intentional actions can never be disclaimed and liability resulting from a faulty product cannot be waived in the state of California. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurance</span> Equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable by the state. While criminal law aims to punish individuals who commit crimes, tort law aims to compensate individuals who suffer harm as a result of the actions of others. Some wrongful acts, such as assault and battery, can result in both a civil lawsuit and a criminal prosecution in countries where the civil and criminal legal systems are separate. Tort law may also be contrasted with contract law, which provides civil remedies after breach of a duty that arises from a contract. Obligations in both tort and criminal law are more fundamental and are imposed regardless of whether the parties have a contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indemnity</span> Contractual obligation to compensate for losses incurred by the other party

In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party to compensate the loss incurred by another party due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemnify is usually, but not always, coextensive with the contractual duty to "hold harmless" or "save harmless". In contrast, a "guarantee" is an obligation of one party to another party to perform the promise of a relevant other party if that other party defaults.

Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as understood in specific contexts may differ from its everyday meaning. For example, a person with a mental disorder, a low mental age, or under the legal age of sexual consent may willingly engage in a sexual act that still fails to meet the legal threshold for consent as defined by applicable law.

An affirmative defense to a civil lawsuit or criminal charge is a fact or set of facts other than those alleged by the plaintiff or prosecutor which, if proven by the defendant, defeats or mitigates the legal consequences of the defendant's otherwise unlawful conduct. In civil lawsuits, affirmative defenses include the statute of limitations, the statute of frauds, waiver, and other affirmative defenses such as, in the United States, those listed in Rule 8 (c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In criminal prosecutions, examples of affirmative defenses are self defense, insanity, entrapment and the statute of limitations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estoppel</span> Preventive judicial device in common law

Estoppel is a judicial device in common law legal systems whereby a court may prevent or "estop" a person from making assertions or from going back on their word; the person so prevented is said to be "estopped". Estoppel may prevent someone from bringing a particular claim. Legal doctrines of estoppel are based in both common law and equity. Estoppel is also a concept in international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' compensation</span> Form of insurance

Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. The trade-off between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as "the compensation bargain.” One of the problems that the compensation bargain solved is the problem of employers becoming insolvent as a result of high damage awards. The system of collective liability was created to prevent that and thus to ensure security of compensation to the workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Act of God</span> Natural disaster outside human control, for which no person is at fault

In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God, act of nature, or damnum fatale is an event caused by no direct human action for which individual persons are not responsible and cannot be held legally liable for loss of life, injury, or property damage. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in contracts, or it may be an "insured peril" in an insurance policy. In Scots law, the equivalent term is damnum fatale, while most Common law proper legal systems use the term act of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disclaimer</span> Any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations

A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. In contrast to other terms for legally operative language, the term disclaimer usually implies situations that involve some level of uncertainty, waiver, or risk.

A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.

Assumption of risk is a defense, specifically an affirmative defense, in the law of torts, which bars or reduces a plaintiff's right to recovery against a negligent tortfeasor if the defendant can demonstrate that the plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly assumed the risks at issue inherent to the dangerous activity in which the plaintiff was participating at the time of their injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duty of care</span> Type of legal obligation

In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care to avoid careless acts that could foreseeably harm others, and lead to claim in negligence. It is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action in negligence. The claimant must be able to show a duty of care imposed by law that the defendant has breached. In turn, breaching a duty may subject an individual to liability. The duty of care may be imposed by operation of law between individuals who have no current direct relationship but eventually become related in some manner, as defined by common law.

Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and protects the insured if the purchaser is sued for claims that come within the coverage of the insurance policy.

Volenti non fit iniuria is a Roman legal maxim and common law doctrine which states that if someone willingly places themselves in a position where harm might result, knowing that some degree of harm might result, they are not able to bring a claim against the other party in tort or delict. Volenti applies only to the risk which a reasonable person would consider them as having assumed by their actions; thus a boxer consents to being hit, and to the injuries that might be expected from being hit, but does not consent to his opponent striking him with an iron bar, or punching him outside the usual terms of boxing. Volenti is also known as a "voluntary assumption of risk".

In American constitutional law, a statute is void for vagueness and unenforceable if it is too vague for the average citizen to understand. This is because constitutionally permissible activity may not be chilled because of a statute's vagueness. There are several reasons a statute may be considered vague; in general, a statute might be void for vagueness when an average citizen cannot generally determine what persons are regulated, what conduct is prohibited, or what punishment may be imposed. For example, criminal laws which do not state explicitly and definitely what conduct is punishable are void for vagueness. A statute is also void for vagueness if a legislature's delegation of authority to judges or administrators is so extensive that it could lead to arbitrary prosecutions. A law can also be "void for vagueness" if it imposes on First Amendment freedom of speech, assembly, or religion.

The legal principle of vicarious liability applies to hold one person liable for the actions of another when engaged in some form of joint or collective activity.

Hospitality law is a legal and social practice related to the treatment of a person's guests or those who patronize a place of business. Related to the concept of legal liability, hospitality laws are intended to protect both hosts and guests against injury, whether accidental or intentional.

Tunkl. v. Regents of the University of California was a leading case in California that established a persuasive six-factor test that helps guide courts to decide when a contract relates to the "public interest."

The civil liability of a recreational diver may include a duty of care to another diver during a dive. Breach of this duty that is a proximate cause of injury or loss to the other diver may lead to civil litigation for damages in compensation for the injury or loss suffered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exculpatory clause</span> Contract language that limits one partys ability to pursue damages

Within a contract, an exculpatory clause is a statement that aims to prevent one party from holding the other party liable for damages. An exculpatory clause is generally only enforceable if it does not conflict with existing public policy. The two other prerequisites for an exculpatory clause to be valid are that the contract must pertain to the involved parties' private affairs, and each of the involved parties must be free bargaining agents to the contract in question such that there is no adhesion.

References

  1. Low, Michael J. (2005). "It's the end of the world as we know it ... and I feel fine: The new rules for drafting liability waivers in Arizona". forc.org. 16 (3). Federation of Regulatory Counsel, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Cotton, Doyice J. (May 2008). "Evaluating Your Liability Waiver" . Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. Drago, Alexander (2002). "Assumption of Risk: An Age-Old Defense Still Viable in Sports and Recreation Cases". Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal. 12: 589.
  4. "Liability Waivers – Busting Some Common Myths". Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.