Club BOD Liability

[Vortec_Cruiser]

A few of us were discussing TLCA club bylaws and officer responsibilities. One question that came up, which nobody could anbwer was the liability of club officers in the event of an injury during a club-sponsored trail ride. Now this only pertains to clubs, and not the TLCA organization.

[tornadoalleycruiser]

During a TLCA sanctioned event part of the sanctioning is the insurance offered to the event. This insurance should cover any possible litigious situtaion that might be incurred. Nick or Jenn might be able to answer more on the details of the insurance.

[Vortec_Cruiser]

I am only referring to the monthly trail rides that an individual club (e.g. So. Cal. TLCA) organizes, and the liability of that club's officers in the event of an injury during one of those rides.

[ginericLC]

Ed,

Your club could be liable. It all depends on the situation and who has the best lawyer. It is best to have everybody on a trail ride sign a waiver or release of liability form for each trail ride. Some states have dangerous activities laws that prohibit people from sueing. But even then you aren't able to escape negligence in all cases. Like I said the best lawyer will win.

[Green Lantern]

Eric is SOOOOO right.

I can not begin to understand Kalifornia law. Two things will help you avoid law suits:
1) make everyone sign a waiver before each event; and,
2) make certain your club and its officers are poor.

My home club, Lone Star is very friendly and family oriented. To my knowledge no one has ever thought of bringing a suit against the club. I sincerely hope your club is not so adversarial that you need to legalize every meeting.

HTH
Happy Trails! N

[Vortec_Cruiser]

This does not pertain to a particular club. This was just a topic of discussion brought up among several of us Cruiser guys. This stemmed from the idea of forming a new club.

I believe that in California a liability waiver is next to worthless as a way of protection against a lawsuit.

[65swb45]

Ed, interestingly enough, this subject also came up at the Trail Crew meeting. We were tossing around ideas that bordered on being good samaritans and still wondering what the liabilities would be regarding the club. Some of the scenarios for liability would make you hesitate to even get out of bed in the morning!

My imagination tends to wander towards the worse-case scenario, as the BOD can attest to
, so I tend to look at things very conservatively. You really ought to try and get some sort of form liability waiver and try to get it signed by all participants EVERY time you go out. These waivers aren't as useless as they were back in the 80's. Some of them are pretty good now.

Most of the modern ones were modeled after a scuba diving school that successfully fended off a wrongful death claim in the early 90's. I think the Cal 4 Wheel form has been updated to reflect this, but I am not sure. Might want to talk to Phil Alland, our club president, as he is also active in CA4WD about their form, and compare it to the one TLCA uses.

Keep us posted.

Mark

[lowenbrau]

Waivers are BS. If the leaders of a run are liable, they will be successfully sued. You can't have a person sign away his rights. The only use of a waiver is to prove that a participant participated with the knowledge of the risks involved. A club should have its own insurance or only run TLCA events and use TLCA's insurance. We don't and we make sure that the officers of the club know we don't. Some day we may be sorry.

[ginericLC]

This is one that Gotham uses and was sent to me some time ago.

For participation in the (NAME OF EVENT) ((NAME OF EVENT)), the undersigned hereby agrees to release and hold harmless all sponsors, trail guides, workers, volunteers, and owners of both public and private land where the (NAME OF EVENT) is held as well as the officers, directors, agents and employees of the (NAME OF CLUB) ((NAME OF CLUB) ). The above shall also be released from any negligent act or omission and shall also include any loss damage or cost incurred due to participation in this event. The participant shall understand and assume full responsibility and risk for any property damage, injury or death while participating in this event. In signing this release, each participant hereby agrees to the following: (A) The owner/operator certifies that the participating vehicle has been inspected & that it is in good working order. (B) That each participant has informed himself/herself about the event and the trails involved in the event. (C) That he/she has read all the foregoing Releases and Waiver of Liability and Indemnity Agreement. (D) Participants acknowledge that trail riding is hazardous, dangerous, and unpredictable. (NAME OF EVENT) Rules: 1. ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL, DRUGS, CAMPFIRES, FIREWORKS OR FIREARMS ARE ALLOWED ON (NAME OF CLUB) TRAIL RIDES. 2. Equipment/Safety Requirements: Roll bar or factory hardtop, seatbelts for driver & all passengers, working regular and emergency brakes, spare tire, fire extinguisher, cb radio, hi-lift jack or equivalent. 3. Authorized agents of (WHEELING LOCATION) and (NAME OF CLUB) may disqualify any vehicle at any time for safety reasons. 4. (NAME OF EVENT) is a family-oriented event. Participants are expected to conduct themselves accordingly. Any violation of these rules may result in expulsion from the event and forfeiture of all entry fees. THIS WAIVER MUST BE SIGNED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS For a child under 18 years of age, both parents, the parent with legal custody, or the minor's legal guardian must sign this release form and write the word "minor" and age next to the minor's name. I, the undersigned, have read and understand the above and agree to abide by same. __________________________________________________ ______________________ Participating Vehicle Make / Model / Year / Plate# __________________________________________________ ______________________ Vehicle Owner Name (Print) Driver's License No. & State __________________________________________________ ______________________ Owner Signature Date __________________________________________________ ______________________ Driver Name (Print) Driver's License No. & State __________________________________________________ ______________________ Driver Signature Date __________________________________________________ ______________________ Passenger 1 Name (Print) Signature Date __________________________________________________ ______________________ Passenger 2 Name (Print) Signature Date __________________________________________________ ______________________ Passenger 3 Name (Print) Signature Date (Use back of page for more if necessary)

[TUFFTORQ]

2nd thoughts??? I think I liked the idea of just calling up local cruiser buddies heading out for good times without the structured organization and politics. Not to mention the potential risk of losing everything you earned.

[lowenbrau]

Originally Posted by TUFFTORQ

2nd thoughts??? I think I liked the idea of just calling up local cruiser buddies heading out for good times without the structured organization and politics. Not to mention the potential risk of losing everything you earned.

I fully agree and so do all my "local cruiser buddies". The trouble is, I don't know all of their next of kin and I sure as hell don't know all of thier next of kin's sleazy, scumbag, 'will be up against the wall when the revolution comes' asshat lawyers. I do my best to keep my pals safe because, firstly, they are my pals. Secondly, I worry a bit about the legal liablility of playing with others.

[Vortec_Cruiser]

Now let's see your hand if you want to be an officer in the club. What, no one wants to lose his ass?

[TUFFTORQ]

Hmmm...Not me!

Originally Posted by Vortec_Cruiser

Now let's see your hand if you want to be an officer in the club. What, no one wants to lose his ass?

[trainrech]

If you want a little piece of mind, you could always get an umbrella liability policy. Mine is for $1m for ~ $100/year.

Oh, and I may be in front, but that's cause I'm too impatient to follow somebody.

[tornadoalleycruiser]

I'll raise my hand.. I volunteer, I enjoy the cruiserheads I deal with, am president of our local club and an officer in the TLCA.. If I lose everything because I'm a volunteer, oh well, I figure someone wanted it much more than I did.. And I'm guessin someone will give me a truck to wheel if I sign a release form

[Vortec_Cruiser]

I'm not really worried about fellow Cruiserheads, but I am worried about that guest who gets invited on the trail ride.

[trainrech]

I'd be curious if there has been a successful lawsuit in this regard. If anyone knows of one, please post up the details you can find. It would be interesting reading.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by Vortec_Cruiser

I'm not really worried about fellow Cruiserheads, but I am worried about that guest who gets invited on the trail ride.

That's pretty much the scary situation...or the wife/family of your recently deceased/maimed club member. Sorry to not really have any answers for you. I think a good waiver is your best bet. Really, all bets are off when lawyers get involved.

[Vortec_Cruiser]

Unfortunately, that's the reality of the situation these days.

[Rzeppa]

This discussion has come up before within Rising Sun. While we pretty much agree that having participants sign some kind of waiver at the beginning of every trail run is a good idea, we've never really got around to it. Cruise Moab is the only event where we have waivers signed.

One of our members is a lawyer, and he points out that in the USA, there is a major difference between negligence and gross negligence. There is a legal definition between the two. In the former case, a waiver will save your butts, in the latter it won't.

[peterb]

Keep in mind, you're much less likely to be found liable if you're not doing something stupid.
Asshat Lawyer

[DSLTOY]

Originally Posted by peterb

Keep in mind, you're much less likely to be found liable if you're not doing something stupid.
Asshat Lawyer

Yes but some of my non wheeling friends think what we routinely do with our cruisers is stupid. and I am sure a good lawer would pick them for the jury.