Sport Waiver Risk Fitness Law

By  Alexander “Sandie” Pendleton
Waivers have failed, at least in part, due to the failure of the signer to have an opportunity to bargain over the terms of the contract. (Atkins v. Swimwest Family Fitness, 2005) Several tactics have been suggested to prevent a waiver from being adhesionary or unconscionable due to the lack of opportunity to bargain.
On the issue of bargaining, importantly, the Atkins decision talks in terms of “the form itself must offer the opportunity for bargaining” (para.25). Unfortunately, the Wisconsin courts have yet to explain exactly what that …

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 …

Part I
By
John Sadler, Sadler & Company, Inc..
This is Part I 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. Note: Some of the state laws have changed since this was originally published on John’s website. Change in state waiver law is a constant.) Part II will appear next week.
As a sports insurance specialist and risk manager, I often wondered the answer to this question myself because of all the …

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 …