adrian_jaye

Hi guy's,

without getting too specific wanted to ask a question.

Am looking at volunteering for a national "charity" I suppose they would be called.

I have been asked to sign a disclaimer, i.e a waiver of liability.

NOW, they are offereing insurance against accidents or death, max. of $50,000.
BUT anther form I have to sign is that I and my dependants etc are unable to sue them in case of such and "inlcuding" negligence on there part.

Now, I'm not flying solo anymore, wife and child, so I accept that accidents happen, but am worried that if due the the associations negligence if I should die or be unable to work for the rest of my life, $50,000 is going to mean bupkiss to me and any other childer I may have.

So,, UK law is different, but you can sign anything you want but if a company is negligent I/my familly should be able to do something.

After all I am not covered under employee law and presumably insurances. I am not getting paid and only claiming expenses.

The aim is NOT to sue, because it is a worthy cause, I can discuss more off line and email the docs I have if helps.

Can anyone advise also if all volenteering groups are like this?

Thankxs

Christien

It's the same here - you can sign any waiver in the world, but if there's clear negligence the waiver doesn't mean much. It's up to a judge and/or jury to decide the level of negligence.

This has come up before WRT signing waivers at the track. If someone gets killed, how much risk are they accepting taking part in a known-dangerous sport with unspecified skill levels present? What if I don't maintain my car properly and leak oil, causing a fatal crash for the guy behind me? Am I criminally negligent? Not likely. What if the factory used a cheap hose that splits easily under extreme (track) conditions and spills the oil? Very unlikely. What if I'm driving drunk? Most definitely. There are a million shades of grey in there, which is where the judge comes in.

adrian_jaye

Thanks Christien,I kinda thought that.