South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
A waiver of liability is an increasingly common way for businesses to throw up a shield against legal responsibility for patron injuries. They are especially common where activities might pose a higher-than-average risk. Examples might be trampoline parks, jet skiing or skydiving.
However, as our West Palm Beach injury lawyers can explain, signing a waiver of liability won’t absolutely sabotage the legitimacy of your injury claim. If you can prove the waiver failed to meet certain legal criteria or if there is evidence of reckless or intentional wrongdoing, you may still be able to pursue your claim for damages. The same goes for many claims involving children involved in commercial activities, as noted by the 2008 Florida Supreme Court decision in Kirton v. Fields.
While it’s true that waivers of liability can insulate organizations and businesses from legal responsibility for acts of negligence (i.e., lack of reasonable care) they can’t protect against gross negligence. Gross negligence is the deliberate disregard for someone else’s safety by an act or omission the defendant knew or should have known would put another in danger. Continue reading