Furthermore, waivers are not an appropriate substitute for the careful supervision of activities involving minors or other vulnerable populations. The validity of a waiver may depend on when the person executed it. Waivers written before any damages actually occur generally seek to establish that the individual recognizes the risks involved in a forthcoming activity and voluntarily consents to accept the consequences of those risks in exchange for the opportunity to participate. If the individual has no practical choice but to sign the waiver, it is unlikely that the court will uphold it. Waivers executed after an injury are on much more solid legal ground because the value of the exchange is less speculative.
Claimants often execute such a waiver in conjunction with a settlement arrangement.
In either event, consult legal counsel when drafting such agreements. The laws governing waivers varies widely from state to state and some states prohibit their use in certain situations. Harmless Agreements A hold harmless agreement is a written contract between two parties that states that one party will assume the risk of legal liability for the other party. Rather than seeking to bar a lawsuit, a hold-harmless agreement obligates one party to pay any costs the other incurs as a result of a claim or lawsuit. A landlord will often include hold harmless language in a lease to protect himself from liability resulting from an event occurring on his property.