Anyone here a lawyer that knows about liability of property

by kls 8 Replies latest jw friends

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  kls

  This is what i need to know , i have 18 acres and my son who is 26 asked me if he friend could come here and ride his 4 wheeler, well i said no not till the ground gets hard . Then i started to think when i had horses i was careful and had people sign an agreement that if they were hurt riding on my property that they would not sue me for injuries, my question is if i had my son's friend sign a contract not to sue me in case of injury would that hold up if he would get hurt or would a contract just be worthless and i probably should just tell my son and his friend no, its not worth getting sued over.

  thanks
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  Oroborus21

  It's been many years since I had to study this stuff for the Bar Exam so I might be a little off on my analysis. From what I remember your son's friend is an "invitee" or "licensee." You have a duty to 1) make a reasonable effort to learn/discover any hidden dangers or hazards on your property and 2) warn him of any known hazards including "apparent" hazards such as a lake or ditch, pole, etc. (Yeah it may mean that you should spend a few minutes pointing to the trees, fences, rocks, ditches, structures, ponds, tanks, etc. on your property and telling the kid to not run into these.). Your son's friend has his own duty to then avoid such hazards and a general duty to conduct himself using the usual care and not recklessly. To the extent that he might be shown that he was injured due to his own contributory negligence any damages and liability might be reduced.

  Question: will the cycles/vehicles your son's friend is using be lent by you or are they his own? If they are yours or your son's then you have some duties about inspecting and making sure these are in working order.

  In any case, obtaining a release from liability (SIGNED BY BOTH THE CHILD AND HIS PARENTS IF HE IS UNDER 18) is a very good idea and may be useful in every situation except where there was some hidden or apparent danger that you did not disclose and that you should have been aware of. In other words the kid/parents can only release liability from the potential dangers they are aware of. The liability form should be specific and probably reference the activities, risks from such activities and approved times that these may be engaged in. Wearing a helmet or other safety equipment should be mandatory and conditional to the granting of the license.

  Finally, make sure to check with your homeowner's insurance company to make sure that the activity will be covered and will not in any way be a breach of your policy.

  I know all of this is crazy and it is too bad that kids can't just have fun like we used to in the old days but one has to be careful in our litigious society.

  -Eduardo
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  kls

  Edurado, the 4 wheeler must be my sons friend because i do not have one but i do have motorcross bikes that my kids ride. OK Check trees and other obsticles ,they gotta be kidding ,i have hundreds of trees and rocks and who know what else is growing out there ,,,,,sheees

  Thanks so much but i have one more little question ,,,,,say this boy gets hurt on my property ,even with the contract that i have him sign ( he is 25) could his health insurance still come after me payment of his medical bills?
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  Satanus

  Having spent a couple of yrs helping out down and outers, i found that if you do favours like this, and you stick your neck out. Why not just say no?

  S
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  Oroborus21

  Well sure. After all the biggest fact of all is that anyone can "bring a claim" for anything in the world. Whether such claim gets past a summary judgment motion or motion to dismiss or ultimately prevails is of course what the law is all about.

  All you can do is decide whether or not you feel comfortable taking any risk at all. If you do then minimize your risk and that is all that you can do. There is nothing that is so iron-clad that it forestalls a challenge. (Gulp! I hate to bring it up but just look at the Terri Schiavo case. The law was always on the husband's side, even after all the state rulings came down and the Supreme Ct denied cert 3 times, yet the parents still pressed for relief in the federal courts, etc. etc. Nothing prevents a lawsuit/petition/motion from being filed or even initially reviewed, unless it isn't completed correctly :-) and even then sometimes it is ok.)

  -Eduardo
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  kls

  Satanus, i think you are right

  Edurado ,thank you so much for picking your brain ,now i know the answer to my son and his friend will be ,NO it is not worth the hassle.
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  G Money

  A release of liability would be fine as they use in ski areas or scuba diving. Have parents sign for minor but also if there was a claim, your insurance company may handle it for you.
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  ButtLight

  My ex has land, and wouldnt let our son and his friend go snowmobiling there for that reason. He would be liable no matter what. Its hard to say no to kids sometimes, but in that case I would. Just imagine if the kid would die for some odd reason. Yikes! It really isnt worth the worry.
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  PinTail

  I am not a attorney or under the guidance of an attorney I am a trained lay paralegal. Your reference to signing a agreement is not enough, such an agreement can always be challenged in a court of law from a good tort attorney. Most attorneys would agree that an affidavit where a notary public notarizes the agreement, and that there also be an agreement that is signed by three people known by both of you ( that you both know of) the person that he would not litigate against in the event of a injury, would help to give your attorney more leverage to aid you in the event of litigation. Remeber if there is a claim of injury, from this person rideing his ATV on your property no matter what" warnings you post on your land, he WILL have more attorney's flocking to his side than bees to honey, they could possibly lay a claim to your land to pay for his damages medical and so on not to mention the attorney's compensations, do you want to risk this? Shane