Injured After Signing a Waiver. Do I Still Have a Case?

Many Californians must sign liability waivers before participating in activities with a risk of injury, such as sports and recreational activities. While reading the fine print on a waiver may be time-consuming, it’s also essential. You could sign away crucial rights that limit your ability to take legal action if an accident occurs while participating in the activity.

So, what happens if you get hurt after signing a waiver? Talk with a personal injury attorney right away. You are not necessarily prohibited from filing a lawsuit, but your lawyer needs to investigate the incident to determine what’s possible.

Don’t give up without a fight. Reach out for a free consultation with an experienced personal lawyer at Demas Law Group today.

How Do Liability Waivers Work?

Liability waivers are common in sports and other physical activities. For example, most people must sign liability waivers upon joining gyms, entering trampoline parks, or joining recreational sports leagues. In these circumstances, a person signing a liability waiver agrees not to sue for injuries they may suffer at the facility or during the activity.

Liability waivers are also called assumption of risk agreements.

Does Signing a Waiver Prevent You from Suing?

Signing a liability waiver does not always bar a person from filing a personal injury lawsuit. However, a liability waiver may prevent a person from suing if their injuries are due to a reasonably foreseeable risk.

Example: Joe signed a liability waiver to participate in a recreational softball league. He gets hit by a fly ball during a game and suffers serious injuries. He may be unable to sue the league organizer for his injuries because getting hit by a softball is an inherent risk of the sport.

Keep in mind that liability waivers do not absolve companies from their duty to provide a safe environment. For instance, if your injury resulted from a company or owner/operator’s gross negligence, you may still be entitled to sue.

What Voids a Waiver?

In California, certain circumstances may void or preclude the enforceability of a liability waiver, including the following:

• Gross negligence – The facility operator or event organizer demonstrated a lack of care or extreme disregard for others’ safety, either through their actions or inactions.
• Accident not covered by waiver – The injury occurred from an incident not included in the scope of the waiver or due to a risk the injured person did not intend to assume.
• Incapacity or ineligibility – The injured person could not legally sign the liability waiver for some reason, such as duress, coercion, undue influence, or as a minor.
• Ambiguous or unclear language – Liability waivers should be written clearly so participants can understand the terms and the risks of an activity or event.
• Intentional acts – The waiver may be void if the evidence shows the accident and injury resulted from the willful or deliberate acts of a business or its employees.

Ordinary Negligence vs. Gross Negligence

Under California law, liability waivers are typically enforced if a person suffers injury due to ordinary negligence. However, liability waivers will not apply when a patron’s injury occurs due to gross negligence.

Ordinary negligence involves failing to comply with a duty of care. Gross negligence occurs when a party commits an “extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct.” Gross negligence might happen if a company recklessly disregards a patron’s safety by having actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous issue or safety hazard.

What Does the Assumption of Risk Agreement Cover?

An assumption of risk agreement should only cover liability for injuries and losses caused by risks expressly disclosed in the agreement or that a person should reasonably expect as part of the activity. Injuries caused by undisclosed or non-ordinary risks typically do not fall within the scope of a liability waiver.

Hurt After Signing a Liability Waiver? Get Help From Our Personal Injury Lawyers Now

A liability waiver may not stand in the way of you receiving compensation after an accident in California. Let a Sacramento personal injury lawyer from Demas Law Group determine your rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.