Rafting and tubing are more extreme forms of fun for most people, so it is not unusual to sign a liability waiver before participating in them. Despite that, you might still be able to recover damages.
By signing a waiver, you agree to give up your right to sue in certain circumstances. This usually means commonplace accidents caused by ordinary negligence. For example, a waiver would like to protect an operator from a premises liability claim if you slipped on the dock before boarding. However, our attorneys can determine if your accident went beyond mere negligence. If your tubing or rafting accident was caused by reckless or grossly negligent behavior, the waiver will likely not shield those responsible from liability.
Call us at (479) 316-0438 to get your free case evaluation with our experienced Arkansas personal injury attorneys.
Can I Still File a Lawsuit for Rafting and Tubing Injuries if I Sign a Liability Waiver?
If another person negligently injures you in a rafting or tubing accident, you will naturally want to be compensated. However, you might have signed a waiver before taking part in the activity. While highly dependent on the jurisdiction in which you signed it, most states consider liability waivers a valid contract as long as they meet certain requirements.
That does not mean that our personal injury attorneys cannot help you challenge a waiver if you signed one. Liability waivers must meet several criteria to be considered legally valid. Our team can review the waiver you signed to determine if it can be found unenforceable for not meeting one of the following requirements:
Clear and Unambiguous Language
One of the most important requirements for a waiver to be valid is that its language must be clear to the reader. This means that the terms of the waiver and what rights you are signing away are stated in everyday terms that everybody can understand. While a rafting and tubing waiver might be long if it lists all the risks involved, it should not be incomprehensible. You should not need a lawyer just to read one. However, it is best to have our attorneys read your waiver before signing it.
Time to Review the Waiver
You should also be given enough time to review the waiver so you fully understand what you are agreeing to. As mentioned, your rafting or tubing waiver might be quite long. If staff rushed you through to get you on the raft or just offered you a line to sign without giving you a copy, the waiver would not be considered a valid contract.
Specific Acts
Waivers must state the risks associated with the activity in clear and unambiguous terms. If a term in the waiver is confusing so that you do not know the specific act being waived, most courts will interpret it narrowly against the party who drafted the waiver.
A tubing or rafting waiver usually excuses accidents like slips and falls since most of the surfaces are wet. It will likely also contain language stating that the operator cannot be held liable for injuries from paddles or losing control of the raft or tube. If your injuries were associated with the activity, we can see if the act that caused it was included in the waiver. If your accident had no relation to rafting or tubing, like having a door fall on you in a bathroom stall, a liability waiver would not stop us from filing a lawsuit.
Level of Negligence
The degree of negligence will also be a critical factor. Waivers typically excuse ordinary negligence, like the examples given above. Most courts will find that a waiver of liability should not protect a defendant who causes injuries through a wanton or reckless disregard for the safety of others. Thus, we can usually sue where the rafting or tubing accident was caused by gross negligence.
How to Determine Liability for a Rafting and Tubing Accident
If a waiver does not bar you from filing a lawsuit, the next step is to determine who to name in your lawsuit. In some cases, you might sue the person directly responsible for the accident, like an employee, as well as the business that employs them. Or, you might only sue the park if they are publicly operated. Other times, the person who owns the boat or raft involved in the accident differs from the one operating it but could still be held liable if they entrusted it to someone they should not have. In rarer cases, the company that manufactured the raft or tube caused the accident. Our attorneys can help you determine if any of the following parties played a role in your accident:
Boat and Raft Operators
If you were injured on a vessel operated by someone else, the operator will likely be the first person we look to for liability in your lawsuit. The person operating a boat or raft should be trained properly and stay in the waters the vessel is designed for. If the operator is speeding or driving the boat recklessly, it can cause passengers to go flying off the side. It can also severely injure someone riding a tube if they hit the water at high speeds or are whipped into trees or the shore.
Raft operators should also exercise great care. A waiver would likely protect from liability if the raft flipped but was in the waters it planned for in the waiver. However, a waiver would not hold up if the raft operator ventured into waters they knew to be too challenging for the other riders but disregarded the danger.
Businesses
If we can sue the individual employee for your rafting and tubing injuries, we can probably also name the business they work for as a defendant. Under the legal principle of respondeat superior, most employers can be held liable for the negligent acts of their employees if they caused the accident during the course of work. In the example just above, if the raft operator ventured into dangerous waters and injured riders, the rafting company can be held liable for its employee going beyond the scope of their responsibilities.
If the accident was caused in a public park, determining liability will be more challenging. Many states have government-operated nature parks where rafting and tubing activities are offered. However, states also have what is known as “sovereign immunity,” which protects government employees from negligence lawsuits. However, the rule typically does not prevent you from filing a lawsuit against the government agency that operates the park in which you were injured.
If an employee did not cause your injuries, our lawyers can determine if a tube or raft rental company should be held liable.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers Are Here to Help
For a free case review today with our Fort Smith, AR personal injury lawyers, contact our firm at (479) 316-0438.