If you were required to sign a contract or waiver which excluded legal liability for personal injury or death, and then suffered a serious injury that was caused by that organisation or their employee’s negligence, the fact that you signed a waiver does not prevent you from making a claim. What does the law say about waivers relating to claims for injury? The law says that liability (or legal responsibility) for negligently causing injury or death cannot be excluded or restricted by a contract, notice or waiver. The law relating to waivers and contracts which attempt to exclude liability for personal injury is set out in The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, commonly known as UCTA. Section 2(1) of UCTA says: “A person cannot by reference to any contract term or to a notice given to persons generally or to particular persons exclude or restrict his liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence.” This is an absolute prohibition, which cannot be qualified and (unlike other terms relating to other types of negligence) it is not dependent on reasonableness. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes clear that this complete prohibition on excluding liability for personal injury also applies to waivers in contracts or notices between traders and consumers. Section 65 (1) of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says: “A trader cannot by a term of a consumer contract or by a consumer notice exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence.” What common types of waivers are not enforceable? Any waiver or contract term that asks you to sign away your legal right to make a claim by restricting an organisation or individual’s legal liability for injury caused to you by their negligence is not enforceable by law. Common situations in which individual participants, customers or employees may be asked to sign or accept personal injury waivers include: workplace activities, including off-site tasks, organised socials or fun day events, in which employees must sign a waiver or agree to a contract term which says that the employer cannot be held liable for their death or any injuries whilst carrying out their work or attending the event; school trips or events, in which parents or guardians are asked to sign a form agreeing that the school, the trip organisers or the event host will not be liable for any personal injury suffered by their child; children’s activity parties, in which parents must sign a form excluding the organiser’s liability for any injury caused to the child; sports events, such as a colour run, climbing or water activities, where participants are required to sign a form which says that the event host cannot be held liable for your death or any injury you suffer whilst taking part in the event; organised leisure activities, such as laser tag or paintball, where participants must sign a waiver saying that the organiser cannot be held liable for injury or death, however caused, whilst participating in the activity; charity events, such as a skydive or abseil, where participants must sign a waiver purporting to release the charity or activity provider from any liability arising from their personal injury or death, however caused, whilst taking part in the charity event; contract terms in the sale of products, such as appliances, to consumers. No waiver can exclude liability for personal injury claims Unaware of their rights, people who have signed such personal injury waivers, whether out of acceptance or under pressure, may be led to believe that they have waived their right to claim compensation for injury caused by the event organiser’s negligence. This assumption is incorrect. Where negligent or dangerous practises cause injury, whether at work or at leisure, the injured person is entitled to receive compensation for their injury and its financial consequences, and rehabilitation funded by the defendant’s insurer to assist with their recovery. The best way to find out if you can claim compensation for serious personal injury or a loved one’s death is to contact our specialist personal injury solicitors to discuss your potential claim. Your enquiry will be handled by a solicitor, free, confidentially and without obligation. Most of our clients’ claims are handled on a no-win-no-fee basis. Our specialist solicitors have helped many hundreds of severely injured clients secure compensation, in circumstances where it would be easy (but mistaken) to assume that their own actions had prevented them from making a claim. As long as significant negligence or breach of statutory duty by the responsible employer, event organiser or organisation can be established, the injured person’s contributory negligence or previously signed waiver does not prevent our client from making their claim. Read about a successful personal injury claim for a client who was injured during an airsoft game after signing a waiver. If you or your child have been seriously injured in an accident caused by another individual or organisation’s negligence, you can talk to one of our experienced solicitors, free and confidentially, to find out more about funded rehabilitation or making a claim by contacting us.
