Many people think that a waiver is the end-all, be-all of liability after an accident. This is not the case. If you get into an accident while renting a water ski, you can still sue if you’re injured – even if you’ve signed a waiver. While waivers may make your recovery more complicated, they do not offer a rental service or its employees full immunity from the consequences of their actions.
You can connect with a water ski accident attorney in New York to discuss how to work within the confines of a waiver to take action against a negligent party. The Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP is on your side.
What to Know About Waivers
Waivers do not alleviate rental companies of their responsibility to look out for you while you’re on one of their water skis. All companies still have a responsibility to provide you with training, safety equipment, and supervision while you’re on the water.
These companies equally have a responsibility to keep you away from known hazards if they want to avoid assuming legal responsibility for any injuries you sustain under their care.
What does a waiver do, then? Waivers state that you take personal responsibility for any unreasonable behavior you engage in while using a rental company’s water skis. If you purposefully make your own experience dangerous for yourself or other participants, the company isn’t liable for your behavior.
Waivers Do Not Offer Businesses Qualified Immunity
There are further exceptions to the protections that waivers provide rental companies. For example, rental companies must make a reasonable effort to train their staff on basic safety measures. The company must also maintain its equipment and grounds to ensure that renters are as safe as possible while using their water skis.
You are not obligated to test or check water skis for safe use, as it’s reasonable to assume that a company would want to keep its renters as safe as possible. Rental agencies that fail to uphold the quality of their equipment, landscaping, or employee training can assume responsibility for injuries you sustain due to their misconduct.
Employers, Employees, and Independent Contractors
Many rental companies try to use additional loopholes to get out of assuming responsibility for injuries you sustain under their care. For example, a rental company may hire independent contractors instead of full or part-time employees. Independent contractors often have to assume responsibility for their own insurance and on-site faults.
For example, if a rental company hires an independent safety instructor and that instructor hasn’t maintained their training, the independent contractor may assume responsibility for accidents stemming from their oversites. However, there’s a chance a rental agency may misrepresent an employee’s employment status to avoid taking responsibility for any on-site accidents.
If you suspect that a water ski rental agency may have misrepresented the nature of someone’s employment status to try to avoid liability for your recent accident, let an experienced attorney know. We can investigate the contracts that exist between relevant parties to ensure that you hold the right party responsible for your losses.
When Can Lawyers Throw Out Your Rental Waiver
With all of this in mind, you don’t have to let a waiver stand between you and your right to recover from an unreasonable water skiing accident. You can work with an experienced personal injury lawyer to challenge a waiver if you suspect:
- The language used to describe participants’ unreasonable behavior is not clear
- You received incorrect information about a waiver’s coverage
- You signed a waiver as a minor without guardian supervision
- A waiver misrepresented the services and protections available to participants
- You signed a waiver under duress or were pressured into signing
We encourage you to book a free case evaluation with a water ski accident lawyer in New York if you suffer an accident while under the supervision of a water ski rental service. Our team can step in and prevent an agency from engaging in bad-faith conduct in an effort to avoid paying for your recovery. Your first case consultation with an experienced legal staff member comes free of charge.
Take Action Alongside Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP Today
Even if you signed a waiver before renting a water ski, you may still have the right to hold a rental agency and its staff liable for your waterway accident. These companies must assume responsibility for accidents that stem from their failure to maintain their equipment, employee training, and waterways.
You can collaborate with the water ski accident attorneys in New York to break your waiver down before suing a liable corporation. Contact our team by calling (516) 358-6900 or contacting us online to learn more.
