Liability Waivers For Riggers

[NathanL100 0]

With all the law suit happy people out there I was curious what riggers do about legal liability. Do any lofts have a liability waiver or does the FAA cover it? I know that you're always responsible for your work and that a riggers goal is perfection, but I'm sure that some lawsuit happy relative of a deceased skydiver would be able to put together a lawsuit against a rigger even if the rig was packed according to manufactures recommendations. So what do riggers do to cover their behinds?
Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it.

[riggerrob 558]

Let me start by reminding you that the vast majority of fatality reports published by USPA list "user error" as the primary cause of death. While riggers are human, and we occaissionally make mistakes, our mistakes rarely result in fatalities.
After one of their riggers was sued, Adventure Sports Loft, in Perris, California, modified their standard contract to include a waiver that reminded cutomers that jumping out of airplanes was dangerous, and if they got hurt, the customer's signature agreed that they would not bother trying to to sue the loft, etc..
Note, ASL was never named in the lawsuit and the original rigger was eventually dropped from the lawsuit when it became clear that his pockets were shallow. It seems that the only defense in a California court is to plead poverty.
If you try to sue Pacific Skydivers over some alleged error on my part, my defense will start with telling you to F-off. Then my boss will tell you F-off. If you are dumb enough to persist, my boss will see you in court, he being a retired lawyer and all. Then a Canadian judge will tell to stop wasting his time and get the F out of his court room! Ha!

[riggerrob 558]

Aside from the whole airworthiness issue, packing in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions provides a powerful legal defense.
If relatives of the deceased try to sue me because I packed a rig in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, I will tell them to go sue the Uninsured Relative Workshop or Strong Enterprises. Those guys have far deeper pockets than me and far more experience at telling lawyers to F-off.
For example, many years ago, a student did something dumb and hurt herself while wearing a Telesis harness built by Rigging Innovations. The lawyer for the plaintif called Sandy Reid (President of R.I.) and demanded to know the name of his insurance company. When Sandy replied for the third time that R.I. did not carry liability insurance, the lawyer dropped the suit.
Again, we return to the point that the best defense in a California court is to plead poverty.
If a rigger or manufacturer has few liquid assets, liability lawyers will leave them alone.

[councilman24 36]

I've asked that question at several PIA symposiums over the years and hadn't found a rigger that used a wavier. Of course just trying to defend a lawsuit will bankrupt most riggers. Remember it cost Para-Gear $10,000 to be dropped from a case that they were named in because the data card had their name printed on it. They didn't do the work, they sold the 2 cent piece of paper. I hope I'm covering myself by trying to be the most professional I can be. I had a customer blow up a round reserve by tumbling into it during deployment. He lived but had severe injuries. I visited him in the hospital after I convinced myself I didn't have anything to do with it. He didn't blame me either. But he did send the canopy to the manufacturer for their opinion. Of course they said, which was true, the if you deploy tumbling and unstable these kind of failures can occur. If we don't want to be sued, we shouldn't rig, jumpmaster, instruct, or jump with others. But that's the risk we take either to have fun, make money, or both.
Terry

[mtpohl 0]

Not a liability waiver...but I do not offer rigging services under my personal name but as an incorporated business. The form of the business is a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and basically insulates me from any law suits trying to access my personal (mis)fortune. Incidentally I am also billing my services as a Tandem Instructor and those of my wife, an AFF Instructor, through the LLC. That provides another layer of protection over and above the standard waiver.