Q6: RELEASE WAIVERS—HOW USEFUL ARE THEY? PAPER OR DIGITAL?
BAHMAN: Waivers are very important. We use all digital. We do that first to make sure that a client only signs once a year. If they come back, they don’t have to resign a waiver. Our main objective is to keep it simple for the clients.
You can do all sorts of things with the forms. You can set them up so that people have to watch a safety video first. We also ask them whether it’s OK for us to send them direct emails to tell them about our specials, or tell them about upcoming events.
DAVE: Releases and waivers are very useful, both paper and digital, and from both a liability issue and information gathering perspective. We also use the waiver form to track guest harnesses to insure they are returned after use.
KEITH: This will vary by state or jurisdictional authority. I would do them 100% of the time, as it’s part of a sound risk management policy. In some jurisdictions it will carry a lot of legal weight if an incident occurs, in others it has no real legal bearing but does help to demonstrate that risks were explained and agreed to. That can lead to a contributory negligence finding where people share responsibility in a proportional manner. Unfortunately, waiver laws change every couple of months in each state, it seems, as new case law is created.
