When Can Or Can't You Sue If You Signed A Liability Waiver?

Liability waivers are tools that many organizations use to reduce their risk exposure when dealing with the public and possible personal injury claims. Fortunately, there are many scenarios where a personal injury law firm may be able to help you sue even if you signed a waiver. Here are three things people who've signed waivers should know about the possibility of suing.

Ordinary Negligence

You can only waive a potential defendant's liability in cases involving ordinary negligence. One case of ordinary negligence would be a slip-and-fall incident. A swimming pool's operator might include a waiver for this type of accident due to the slipperiness of surfaces along the pool's deck.

People can't waive other forms of liability, such as gross negligence or malice. Gross negligence is essentially when someone should have known better. For example, they might have left a dangerous piece of equipment in a spot where it could come unmoored and injure someone. Malice is intentional harm. For example, the operator of a Halloween funhouse can't intentionally harm you, although there may be some legal give for things like bumps, bruises, and light abrasions.

Visibly Displayed

When someone agrees to a waiver, the waiver has to be visibly displayed. If a waiver is on a ticket, for example, it has to be displayed where you would easily see it and read it. Likewise, the print has to be sufficient to draw your attention to the waiver. Also, the waiver can't be buried amid other texts.

It's wise to always keep a copy of any waivers you might accept. You can take these to a personal injury law office and have a lawyer determine if the display of the waiver meets legal muster or not.

Clear Terms

Another aspect of a well-written waiver is that it includes language that is abundantly clear about what risks you're facing. In other words, a company can't grant itself a blank waiver with vague language. The party that drafted the waiver has to outline the specific risks you face.

In the previous example about a funhouse, the operator could probably make a waiver involving bumps and bruises hold up. They would, however, have to indicate in the waiver that these sorts of injuries are possible in the normal use of their services. Anything not clearly stated in the waiver and tied to the specific activities you were engaged in is not covered. For more information regarding liability waivers, contact a personal injury law firm.

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