Waiver
April 09, 2011
John Wolohan
Department of Sport Management & Media
Ithaca College
As already detailed in this Newsletter, it is well established that in most states a well-written waiver, signed by an adult, can be an effective tool in protecting sport and recreation providers from negligence liability. What is not so clearly established, however, is the legal impact of online or electronic waivers. For example, if a sport and recreation program requires its participants to go online and sign a waiver before being allowed to participate in the event, will it carry the same legal weight as off-line or traditional paper waivers?
The purpose of this article is to take some of the guess work out of online or electronic waivers and to provide sport and recreation administrators with a checklist for writing and using online or electronic waivers. Before considering online or electronic waivers, however, it is important for the reader to understand how the courts have traditionally viewed waivers in the off-line world. Basically, a waiver is a contract in which the sport and recreation participant agrees to relinquish his or her right to sue the service provider in any event the participant is injured due to the provider’s negligence.
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April 09, 2011
Ryan Matteson
Security Consulting
Office of Chief Information Officer
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
The question arises again and again — ‘Can we administer a waiver of liability with the computer? Motivations range from reduction of paper work to ease of administration. While case law is available related to the use of waivers in paper format, there have been few if any published legal ‘tests’ of electronic waivers.
Especially critical to the implementation of an electronic waiver are the issues of authentication and affirmation of the user, and this article describes the key process that need to be considered.
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April 08, 2011
Doyice J. Cotten
Sport Risk Consulting
Where there are fitness, recreation, and sport activities, there are injuries! Unfortunately, where there are injuries, there are lawsuits! Providers of these activities must take care to manage risk in two ways. First, they should take steps to reduce the likelihood of injury as much as possible. Secondly, they should do everything possible to protect themselves and their business entity from the risks of financial loss. A major financial risk is that of lawsuits by parties injured while participating in fitness, recreation, or sport activities.
Injuries in fitness, recreation, and sport activities arise from three sources. They result from either 1) accidents due to the inherent risks of the activity, 2) negligence (errors or mistakes) of the provider, co-participants, or others, or 3) extreme actions such as gross negligence or reckless actions. Generally, the provider is not liable for injuries resulting from the inherent risks of the activity, however, they are held liable for injuries resulting from their own negligence. A waiver can protect the provider from liability for injuries caused by provider negligence. A waiver generally does not protect the provider from liability for extreme actions.
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April 07, 2011
Katharine M. Nohr, Esq.
Nohr Sports Risk Management LLC
Below are summaries from court cases across the nation that are hot off the press, decided in August and September of 2007. As always, when reading summaries of court decisions, it is important to note that this is no substitute for reading the entire decision which includes details of the relevant facts, case law and state and federal statutes that are applicable as well as analysis of the court’s decision. Simply because a court decides something in one case does not mean that it will apply to your situation and so it is important to talk to an attorney licensed in your state if you have any questions.
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March 31, 2011
Joe Risser CPCU, ARM-P
Director, Risk Management
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Waivers or Release of Liability Agreements may result in a college or university developing an unwarranted sense of protection from liability. These intended legal contracts designed to (a) transfer responsibility for participation in an activity and (b) transfer responsibility for financing of a loss due to the activity may rest on enforcement by one or more courts. Details in wording, presentation, administration and even record keeping can be critical.
Often there are a variety of points of view from different campus stakeholders about the use of waivers. Perhaps they should be used as a part of the application and enrollment process for the college or university? Used only for voluntary activities, but not for course required activities, campus funded activities or off campus activities involving travel?
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