Many Marion County residents come to us here at the King Law Firm concerned about the limitations that liability waivers place on their ability to seek compensation for injuries to their kids. They ask, “Are liability waivers enforceable?” If you signed a waiver prior to your child engaging in a potentially dangerous activity, you may feel as though you have no way to hold an activity provider responsible for its negligent actions. However, whether or not a liability waiver is enforceable depends largely on the language that it includes.
Florida state law includes very specific criteria regarding the language neededin order for a liability waiver signed by you prior to your children engaging in risky activity to be considered valid. The answer to “are liability waivers enforceable” can be found in this statute. It states that any such waiver must contain the state’s NOTICE TO THE MINOR CHILD’S NATURAL GUARDIAN as found in Chapter 744 of Title XLIII of the Florida State Statute. Furthermore, the notice must be presented on a waiver in the following form:
- Clearly distinguishable from the other text included in the waiver.
- Be formatted completely in uppercase.
- Be presented in type a minimum of 5 points larger than the other information contained therein.
If you are able to prove that the waiver did not contain such a clause in the correct format, then you may be able to successfully challenge its validity.
In any event, it is recommended that you still seek legal advice even if you did sign a liability waiver. In general, the court requires that there be specific language inherent to the unique risks that an activity presents in order to enforce a waiver. Gross negligence and intentional action on the part of an activity provider may also nullify a waiver.
You can find more information regarding your options for filing liability claims by continuing to browse through our site.
