A waiver is the surrender of a party’s rights and privileges. An example is a disclaimer statement.
Contract clauses that waive a party’s right to damages are illegal, and therefore, not enforceable.
Waivers were designed for the purpose of defending an entity or ones personal interests both in the present and the future. This from prevents virtually any form of risk, prosecution, or liability in case the opposing party involved feels entitled to damages of any sort. The waiver forms block such possibilities.
Examples of different types of waivers
The following is a brief breakdown of some of the more prominent types of waivers.
Liability Waiver- A type of waiver required to be filled out and signed in order to authorize formal consent, from the individual signing the waiver form. Such a waiver is designed to exempt a company or facility from any form of liability in the scenario where a client/visitor gets injured or killed.
Tangible Goods Waiver- A waiver which grants an individual the right to waive and terminate any claim on a previously held item or product. If for example, certain goods were sold or donated to another party, the previous owner will no longer be held responsible or liable in any way for any issues potentially revolving around the item given, transferred, or sold.
Example
Jack and his wife Annie visit a theme park known for its exotic and frighting fast speed roller coasters. Due to the fact the park has had a history of complaints resulting from fatalities and injuries in the past, the facility now requires its visitors to sign a waiver. The couple is aware of the dangers and risks of signing onto the waiver and are hesitant in wanting to agree to such terms.
Waiver Enforcement
Although waivers are intended to protect a company or individual from any liability, in some states certain loopholes in the law may in fact not entirely always grant an exemption without some form of investigation, particularly in very serious and severe instances.
Waivers tend be documented on forms in great length explaining the terms and regulations of signing such an agreement, many of these same waivers at times tend to be misleading, confusing, and are intentionally written in a way deemed not simplified whatsoever. Critics of such waivers, point out and assume certain business entities or individuals outline their waiver forms to be as confusing and misleading as possible in order to avoid any protest or deterrence from the other party trying to come to written terms of this written agreement. They continue on by stating if such waivers were laid out in straight forward simplified language, many people may think twice before signing off, and this could indeed be detrimental to their business or beneficial interests.
Moreover, if a waiver has any non legal regulations documented on the form, even with the other party signing onto such terms and agreements, the contract will be voided in a court of law. Whether or not individuals who may be proponents or critics of the whole concept of exempting liabilities, one thing is clear, every side must comply with the law when drafting such a contract. Illegal acts of conduct will not grant any form of exemption, but rather lead to penalties and punishment if any laws are broken throughout this process.
