How to draw up a waiver of liability?
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How to draw up a waiver of liability?
I own property and want to open an ORV park. How do I protect myself from lawsuit
Asked on January 30, 2012 under Personal Injury, Michigan
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
A waiver of liability is straightforward--it should have a simple description of the activities, a declaration that the customer acknowledges that these activities have some risks, and a statement that the customer will waive any legal claims or cause of action arising out of his/her use of the park. You should be able to find any number of samples by doing a simple web search.
Bear in mind, however, that you *cannot* waive all liability: the law prevents you from waiving liability for your own bad acts (e.g. intentional wrongs; grossly negligent or reckless acts; often even simple negligence). Mostly, you can make customers assume the ordinary risks of using the property, but if you or your staff do anything wrong, you can still be liable.
To protect yourself more:
1) Have adequate insurance.
2) Consider creating a LLC or corporation, transferring/selling the property to it, and having the LLC or corporation run the park--that will insulate your personal assets from most park-related liability.
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