A liability waiver or disclaimer is a legal document that allows companies and businesses to protect their organization, services and products from legal action if a customer who uses a company’s services is injured in the process. Often a liability waiver form is presented to participants, employees, or clients before various events: participating in sporting events, hiring, purchasing gym memberships, visiting various theme parks, and so on.
If a participant has left his own signature on the liability waiver document, he has agreed to waive his right to bring a lawsuit in case of injury or damage. A disclaimer is legally enforceable if all provisions of the document are spelled out clearly, explicitly, and without ambiguous context. Before signing the waiver, the client should read all provisions of the document to consciously agree to a waiver of possible personal injury claims while engaged in the services of the company.
Why a release of liability form is needed
A release of liability waiver is necessary to protect a business or company if there are certain risks in the process for that area of the business. It is possible to see if a lawsuit can be filed even if a release of liability form has been signed, by determining whether an injury was caused by ordinary negligence or a gross violation of safety rules.
Signing a release of liability form automatically means that the client agrees not to hold the service provider liable for any kind of injury or damage that the client suffered as a result of ordinary negligence. Common negligence means a failure to act reasonably with respect to general safety. In this way, if reasonable inaction becomes the cause of an injury, the person who acted negligently may be held liable for personal injury. That is, without a signed liability waiver in advance, all of the consequences fall on the service provider’s company.
However, when a customer signs a waiver of liability, by doing so he generally agrees to waive his legal right to bring an action in court in most cases. That said, even if the customer has proof that the company’s ordinary negligence caused the customer’s injury or damage, signing the waiver form prevents the customer from suing the company and seeking damages.
Disclaimer – when is it necessary to sign?
It is necessary to sign a liability waiver when there is a possibility of injury or damage in the course of using the company’s goods or services. So, for example, visitors to a trampoline park will probably be asked to sign a liability waiver. If it happens that a customer lands on a metal spring during a jump and breaks his leg, the customer cannot bring a lawsuit in theory because of the liability waiver in effect. Such a spring should not be flaunted, as it is supposedly hidden by a cushion. This is considered ordinary negligence by the trampoline park, as the trampoline would not have been allowed to operate if the equipment had not been carefully maintained.
In any case, the disclaimer has legal effect only if the client’s signature is on the document. As a result of the active popularization of online services, there is often a need to digitally sign documents. You will need an electronic signature, which can be obtained using special waiver software. For example, PandaDoc allows you to create an electronic signature which can be used to sign different documents.
There was recently a case in America where a woman who was injured in a park sued a local court. She brought a lawsuit against the park seeking damages for her injuries. The local court ruled in favor of the trampoline park, dismissing the plaintiff’s claim. The court determined that the woman’s signed release from liability template clearly stated that the customer was releasing the company from liability for her injuries. In doing so, the waiver was clearly formulated in accordance with state law.
A waiver of liability is a guaranteed protection for companies and businesses from being sued for injuries received in the course of production or services. Often, this form of waiver saves companies from unscrupulous customers who deliberately harm themselves in order to obtain damages in the form of financial assistance.