Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
I live in California and I have recently built my ten year old son a skateboard ramp. The ramp is typically placed in the street and used by my son and his friends. I am concerned about my liability for those other kids if they happen to get hurt while using the ramp. If I type up one of those generic legal release letters and have their parents sign it, is that sufficient and does it release me from liability? (Probably not, I�m guessing). Would it make a difference if a lawyer authored the release of liability? Do release of liability forms even stand up in court? Basically I don�t want to be sued but I also want my son to be able to enjoy being a kid. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Without seeing the actual release that you would use, I couldn't tell you if it would be valid. Now, that still may not stop someone from suing you, but a good release of liability may stop them from prevailing against you.
BARRY BESSER
www.besserlaw.com
There is a general rule that you cannot release liability that has not yet accrued. There is an exception for hazardous activities where you release known risks of the activity, including the negligence of other parties involved. The exception would probably apply to your situation, but you would most definitely need an attorney to draft up a good release for it to stand up. And it might not even stand up to every possible event. For example, it is probably a known risk of using a skateboard ramp that you could fall. But may not be a known risk if you did not construct it properly and it fails causing a fall. You should definitely consult an attorney before letting any neighbor kids continue using the ramp.
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