In Pennsylvania, businesses, recreational parks, and other locations that offer inherently risky activities, such as horseback riding or recreational sports, typically require participants to sign waivers that relieve the business or location of liability for injuries occurring on their site. The purpose is to shield the company or organization offering inherently risky activities from lawsuits.
A liability waiver is primarily a contract, essentially two parties agreeing to do or not do something. For example, a business or person offers a location or services, such as indoor rock climbing, in exchange for payment and a release of liability for injuries occurring at the location or because of the activity. In other words, a liability waiver limits the signer’s ability to sue the person or entity named in the waiver for getting hurt on their premises. Waivers typically cover accidents, activity participation, personal injury, or property damage. Some liability waivers are general, and others apply to specific people performing specific work activities, like contractor liability waivers.
Places like gyms, sports parks, amusement parks, horseback riding establishments, and the like typically require liability waivers before you can use a facility or participate in an activity. So, you must sign a liability waiver before you can work out in the gym, where you can injure muscles or break bones with heavy weights and machinery or ride horses that can topple you to the ground. Of course, ski rental businesses, rock climbing providers, whitewater rafting outfits, and helicopter ride sharers are inherently dangerous activities in nature and require liability waivers. Liability waivers are generally enforceable in Pennsylvania if they meet legal requirements. They must be clear, specific, and prominent and must align with public policy.
Though waivers protect businesses from liability, there are exceptions.
They cover an entity’s ordinary negligence but not gross negligence. For example, a waiver may protect an amusement park from liability for not quickly cleaning up a spilled drink a customer slips on in front of a drink stand. However, a waiver does not cover a malfunctioning ride that ejects a guest when the park has not serviced its ride equipment in months or years, contrary to industry practices and legal regulations. Such negligence is beyond ordinary negligence. Reckless conduct intentionally disregards the safety of guests invited to the park.
A waiver may also be unenforceable for intentional acts that harm others. Thus, a rogue employee who gets into a scuffle with a customer at a sports park may not be covered under a waiver, especially if the employer knew the employee was volatile and had a history of assault. So, when the employee punches someone at the park, the park owner cannot avoid liability with a waiver.
Waivers that are against public policy are unlikely to hold up in court. Waivers that violate unspoken rules protecting public welfare, such as healthcare or public transportation waivers, may be against public policy. For example, healthcare providers swear an oath to save lives and heal patients, among other ethical duties. Their essential services are integrally tied to public health and good. People have no choice but to see a doctor or ride a bus when they have no other form of transportation. Forcing them to give up their rights to sue negligent providers is against public policy.
So, when a medical provider commits malpractice, a liability waiver cannot protect them. Medical malpractice includes negligent, inexcusable errors that defy patients’ inherent trust in their doctors, nurses, and other medical providers. Likewise, the public good depends on safe bus, train, and other public transportation drivers. Liability waivers that protect negligent drivers who operate buses while sleepless, impaired, or otherwise knowingly unsafe are against public policy.
Another exception is the unclear waiver. Waiver language must be unambiguous and clear. An individual signing a waiver must understand in certain terms that they give up their right to sue the entity, requiring a release of liability. Muddy, legalese terms unfamiliar to the average layperson do not constitute clear and unambiguous language; a waiver with such language is unenforceable. Ambiguous language has dual or multiple interpretations. Courts interpret such language to the disadvantage of the one who drafted the waiver as a rule.
Moreover, Pennsylvania may not enforce a waiver signed by a minor. So, a young recreational soccer player who signs a waiver to play in a league may not be precluded from a lawsuit for their injuries. A minor is legally unable to enter a contract, and a parent may not legally sign a waiver for their minor child. They cannot give up their child’s legal rights.
A liability waiver does not end a legal dispute when someone is injured. So many factors come into play when an injury occurs, and a court will examine the specific facts of each case to determine whether the waiver precludes a claim against the protected party under the waiver. So, when a waiver releases a company of all liability based on negligence, a court may look to the facts to determine whether gross negligence occurred, possibly invalidating the waiver.
Additionally, the waiver language may be vague, and the scope may be too broad. For example, a waiver that releases a company of all responsibility whatsoever for all injuries that occur on their property may be too vague and far-reaching. The language covers injuries due to intentional recklessness and excusable neglect alike. Another crucial factor in determining a waiver’s validity is the conditions under which the waiver was signed. So, for example, when a ski rental business owner asks a patron to sign the rental agreement that is open to the third page, assuring them that the
Thus, a waiver does not necessarily void your claim. You still may have grounds to sue a Pennsylvania business for your injuries. The waiver may be defective in various ways, including violations of form, language, deceit, or coercion (forcing someone to sign a waiver).
The surest way to know if your claim is valid after an injury is to seek legal advice from a personal injury attorney. Our renowned Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers at Cohen & Riechelson are specifically experienced in reviewing waivers and can tell you if a waiver prevents you from pursuing a personal injury claim. When you consult with an attorney on our team and relate how, when, and why you signed a waiver, we may discover facts that invalidate the waiver’s enforceability. When the waiver’s enforceability is in doubt, our attorneys will examine the grounds for your injury claim, and if valid, we contact the party or insurer responsible for paying for your injuries to negotiate a potential claim settlement. If this is not possible, our attorneys will zealously litigate your case in civil court to pursue just compensation.
If you are wondering about seeking compensation for your injuries after signing a liability waiver in Levittown, Yardley, Fairless Hills, Langhorne, Bristol, Warminster, Doylestown, Philadelphia, or anywhere else in Pennsylvania, talk to an experienced personal injury attorney for answers. We encourage you to send us an email or contact us today at (215) 337-4915 for a free case review.
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