Liability waivers and homeowners insurance for liability
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Liability waivers and homeowners insurance for liability
If I were to watch children for my friends on days where they may need to pick up extra shifts at their job and their child gets hurt at my home, will a liability waiver cover me? I would not be a licensed daycare and does that fall under my liability under my homeowners insurance? The liability waiver would include that I am not a licensed provider, also includes that they give me permission for medical treatment if deemed necessary.
Asked on February 22, 2019 under Insurance Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
No, a liability waiver will not cover you against the two main sources of potential liability from doing what you describe:
1) Dangerous conditions at your home: all homeowners (or renters--i.e. the person in control of a space) have an obligation to take reasonable steps to mitigate or correct dangerous conditions at the property. If a child is injured due to a protruding nail, a loose step or board or railing, torn carpeting presenting a tripping hazard, etc., you will be liable, since you cannot escape this duty.
2) Negligent supervision: if a child is injured because you failed to watch him/her carefully enough, you will be liable, because you cannot get out of the duty you assumed (voluntarily took on) by agreeing to watch other's children to keep an eye on them and supervise them. So if you leave the room and child A hits child B or pulls an item of furniture or TV down on another child, or if a child turns on the stove and burns him/herself when you are not around, you will be liable.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.