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It all depends on what they would be doing, I have had friend's parents ask this of mine if I was going to a house with a pool or a trampoline as a kid. If it were something where they were just supposed to be playing video games or something, then I would wonder about why I was signing such a thing. But quite frankly, if my child were to be playing outside, tripped and sprained his ankle, I wouldn't sue anyway.
Some people are just WAY too sue happy these days, and I think that's why some people ask parents to sign such waivers before hand. I mean come on people, who you gonna sue if your child does the same in your own backyard, the rock he stepped on? The only real reason to have someone else pay for the medical bills is if there is in fact real fault, such as the yard had scrap metal that was never cleaned up, or the host's child pushed mine and caused an injury. My kid falls off the trampoline? Well if it was purely an accident, no fault is there. If he was attempting to jump from the trampoline to the pool and fell short and smacked his head on the ground? Life lesson learned for him, do dumb stuff, get smacked down by gravity. If another kid pushes him off the trampoline on purpose, then you have a reason to get the medical bills paid for.
But today seems like a lot of people don't believe in accidents. They look to somebody to blame and pay the bills. We are such a litigious society now. It scares me. That is one reason why it is so important to have liability insurance on our house and property. When somebody sues another we have to remember mostly they are looking to the insurance company not the individual to pay the bills.
Once knew a young girl who was riding on the back of her older brother's motorcycle when they had a wreck. Her parents "sued her brother" which caused a big stink until it was explained they were actually suing the brother's insurance carrier. Makes sense to me.
Some people are just WAY too sue happy these days, and I think that's why some people ask parents to sign such waivers before hand. I mean come on people, who you gonna sue if your child does the same in your own backyard, the rock he stepped on? The only real reason to have someone else pay for the medical bills is if there is in fact real fault, such as the yard had scrap metal that was never cleaned up, or the host's child pushed mine and caused an injury. My kid falls off the trampoline? Well if it was purely an accident, no fault is there. If he was attempting to jump from the trampoline to the pool and fell short and smacked his head on the ground? Life lesson learned for him, do dumb stuff, get smacked down by gravity. If another kid pushes him off the trampoline on purpose, then you have a reason to get the medical bills paid for.
If my kid gets injured on your property and I file a claim with my health insurance, my health insurance still has the right to go after your homeowner's policy to recover the costs. I think it is called subrogation.
As I understand it, having a trampoline(or a pool) can increase homeowner's insurance costs, as well as having a pool. If a kid is using a trampoline or the pool reclessly but without proper supervision...I think the homeowner himself is putting himself at tremendous risk
You can sign all the waivers in the world but the courts are full of cases where churches, school, transportation companies, etc are being sue- even hospitals make you sign your life away whenever you have a procedure but they CAN still be liable if something goes wrong. this is as it should be.
considering the amount of law suits involved this subject i would understand.
b4 i retired, i would not give rides to fellow workers to car pool to work events w/o a waiver. that is bek i had one try to sue me.
Everyone should have sufficient homeowners insurance if they have a pool, and if they have a trampoline, and if they have kids over. Period.
Things happen, and outcomes can be dire. As the homeowner you will always be partially responsible, at a minimum.
Trampolines are one of the most common causes of spinal cord injury in children. I would never have one in my home. Injuries like these are devastating FOR LIFE.
You should be happy to have insurance to pay for people's injuries if they happen in your home. That's what insurance is for. If you aren't, then don't have parties in your home.
I'd check with a lawyer before asking anyone to sign a waiver. Most aren't worth the paper they're written on when it comes to protecting you from personal lawsuits. At least that's what a lawyer friend once told me.
I've signed them when my kids have gone to camp, rock climbing and other activities where there is some risk involved. I couldn't see signing one for a pool party or play date.
As I was reading the other posts, my thought was that I was told some years back that a waiver would do no good if someone was injured. I think especially where negligence could be proved that the waiver would not cut it.
A few words about waivers from a practicing attorney:
1. Laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Generally speaking, a waiver of liability executed before an accident takes place will be held to invalid. Courts have different reasons for doing so. Some are that the waiver is a "contract against public policy" (in that it prevents an injured person from seeking recourse to the courts for his damages) or its a contract of adhesion (meaning that bargaining power between two individuals was so slanted that it cannot be said to be a real agreement).
2. Waivers should not be allowed to be effective in many situations. For example, there is a lot of difference in a situation where someone deliberately jumps off your roof and injures himself compared to a situation where others throw him off the roof as a prank and are than surprised when he is injured.
3. While a waiver is insufficient to eliminate someone's right to bring a case in many situations, it may help create defenses to allegations of negligence. For example, if you have a written waiver of liability signed by the injured party and it says right in there that the party is aware that riding skateboards up and down concrete blocks in your driveway may result in an accident that might go some distance towards creating a defense against a negligence allegation that the skateboard course was "improperly designed". Comparative or contributory negligence is always a defense to such lawsuits and can either result in the injured party receiving zero compensation or reduced compensation, depending on his/her degree of fault.
4. No lawyer in his right mind would ever advise a client that a written waiver offers real and effective protection from lawsuits.
5. Waivers are typically obtained to make some people think that if they get injured they have no basis for a claim or lawsuit or as stated in #3, to help create a defense of comparative or contributory negligence.
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