What is a Liability Waiver & Why should I use one in the world of sport events?

What Is A Liability Waiver?

In a nutshell, a liability waiver, also known as a release form, release of liability, or waiver of liability, is a legally binding contract between parties that addresses the risks involved in a given activity. In our context, it's between the athlete or participant and the event organizer.

A waiver has two primary purposes:

• First, it informs participants about "inherent risks" (i.e., potential risks that come baked into the activity, that we know about, and that can be accommodated for);

• Second, it allows participants to release the event organizer from the liability that comes with those risks;

Liability waivers are meant to be signed prior to any physical activity or other activity involving potential legal liability amongst parties. In other words, the attendee agrees, in advance of an incident occurring, not to hold the event organizer accountable for harm relating to various risks, including negligence, in a court of law. This is sometimes referred to as a hold-harmless agreement, as you are effectively agreeing that you were made aware of the inherent and other risks associated with the activity. This differs from a settlement, where a party agrees not to pursue a lawsuit or any legal action after an incident. This usually involves some financial offer and corresponding legal documents.

At the end of the day, a liability waiver or release is a legally binding document that educates participants and protects organizers.

If you're an event organizer, a waiver of liability form is a great way to make sure that you are not held legally responsible in the event of incidents causing injury, illness, or death. It's also important to create waiver forms that are designed for parents and guardians to sign for minors. This will help in cases or activities where kids cannot responsibly sign for themselves.

Why Should You Use A Liability Waiver?

The most obvious reason to use a liability waiver, or release form, is that sport event organizers want to protect themselves from claims of injuries or damages that arise from mishaps that might happen during a competition. This can be for physical injuries, financial ramifications, or other unique circumstances. Mitigating liability—especially in the sports industry—is a serious concern, and waivers go a long way toward doing that. Honestly, the last thing organizer wants is bad word of mouth and a lengthy legal dispute.

As previously mentioned, another reason to use a waiver form is that it educates the participant about the potential risks. This general rule is key since not all members of the public are willing to accept those inherent risks with certain activities. For those people, a release of liability form serves as an important screening tool for any specific event or sponsoring department within the organization. It can give a potential releasor or signing party the chance to decide whether the activity is right for them before they fully commit to it.

While you certainly want all listed athletes to join the event that you are putting together, a small percentage of those people may not be right for that activity, even if they're willing to participate. They may be frightened by the experience or angered by the risks involved, especially fearing the ramifications that may take place in the event of an accident. In other words, release forms are a good way to figure out if an athlete will have a positive experience during the event.

Finally, a third reason to use a release of liability waiver is that insurance companies will oftentimes require that you have one before they will insure you. A liability waiver will help sport event organizers protect themselves so that an insurer is not so easily susceptible to having to pay out for negligence or sudden lawsuits from parties.

The bottom line is that a liability waiver or release form is a critical piece of your risk management program. Sport activities, as well as participating in a competition, carry their own particular risks, and using a waiver form helps prevent those risks from harming you as the releasee.

Are Liability Waivers Legally Binding?

This is a question that comes up often for attorneys all industries, and the answer depends on where you do business and with whom you conduct business. For example, in most states across the U.S., waivers are actually binding contracts, provided that the participant agrees to the release form by clearly acknowledging or signing it and that the release meets certain conditions established by state law (through the courts and/or statutes), financial lenders, and insurance companies. But laws throughout the United States are different for liability waiver forms, and they differ even more when the agreements cross interstate and international borders.

For example, in the United Kingdom the idea of a waiver that releases someone from negligent acts is a foreign concept for voluntary activities such as sports. The United Kingdom has very specific laws and sporting event organizers in that country cannot waive ordinary negligence as a result.

As a general rule of thumb, remember to check with your sport association or federation and receive some guidelines on the form, use and enforceability of waivers in your particular location. You can also consult with a local legal professional to get a greater understanding of the requirements in order for a release of liability waiver to be properly implemented.

Regardless of your location, remember that courts don't like a release of liability waiver that isn't plain and clear. They are disfavored because participants give up a lot of rights by signing these legal documents. Should you ever be in court defending a liability waiver, be aware that they are subject to significant scrutiny. You'll therefore want your liability waiver to be airtight.

Is A Digital Liability Waiver Better Than A Paper Waiver?

A digital liability waiver isn’t necessarily better or more legally binding than getting a waiver signed on paper but they are certainly no less accepted simply because they are digital. However, there are some benefits to digital waivers that many organizations and lawyers appreciate:

· Signed/Acknowledged waivers are stored online are generally quick and easy to locate;

· All information from the signor is legible. Sometimes handwriting on paper waivers can be hard to read or completely illegible;

· Data such as date of birth, email address, IP address and so on can be verified by the waiver signing platform to ensure it is complete and at least in a valid format;

· Savings of printer ink, paper, pens, time and hassle of chasing people to sign, keeping track of those who did not sign;

· And many more.