Sport Waiver Risk Fitness Law

By Doyice Cotten

Courts in some states require that the word “negligence” be included in a waiver. Some strongly urge the use of the term. Others simply specify that the intent of the waiver to cover negligence must be clear.
A recent Kentucky case involving a paintball injury (Bowling v. Asylum Extreme, L.L.C., 2011 Ky. App. Unpub. LEXIS 801) addressed the issue of whether the waiver must specifically refer to the “negligence” of the provider in the waiver. The court cited a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling in a non-sport case (Hargis v. …

By Doyice Cotten
This article was taken from Waivers & Releases of Liability 7th ed. and updated for SportWaiver.com. Click SportWaiver for a limited time special price on the book.
Courts in most states have ruled that to be enforceable, a waiver must clearly and unambiguously express the intent of the client to relieve the provider from liability for its negligence. Ambiguity is defined as doubtfulness, or doubleness of meaning and is said to exist when reasonable persons can find different meanings in the language.
The number one cause of failure of waivers …

By
Doyice Cotten and Mary Cotten

In Roer v. 150 West End Avenue Owners Corp. (2010 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6353), Jason Roer brought action seeking damages for personal injuries sustained in the basement gym of the apartment building where he and his wife reside. While exercising on a treadmill in the gym, he was caused to fall and suffer injury when a loose exercise ball was pulled beneath the belt of his treadmill. He had signed a waiver intended to relieve management of liability for negligence contained in his gym membership contract. …

Part II
By
John Sadler, Sadler & Company, Inc.
This is Part II of a 2 part series about liability waivers. An authority in the field of sport insurance, John shares some things he has learned about waivers while in the insurance business.
Assumption Of Risk (AOR) As A Defense To Negligence
The second protective purpose of a waiver/release is to trigger the Assumption Of Risk Defense under tort law – in other words – to provide evidence that the sports organization gave adequate warnings of the risks so that an argument can be …

by Charles R. Gregg
Readers will find that this to be an informative legal liability article. “Reb” Gregg is one of the nation’s top adventure law attorneys. This article originally appeared on Reb’s website.
Q. How do I run a good program without being sued?                                                                             
A. You can’t. People can and may sue you, with or without justification. And even the best program can make mistakes which might provoke the lawsuit.
Q. So how do I reduce my exposure to possible liability?
A. The ultimate and best solution, of course, is a quality …