Defeating Liability Waivers

I'm talking about those waivers that pretty much every business makes you sign. You know which ones - the ones you never read but always sign. 

So what happens if you are injured after signing one of those? (I bet you never thought about that huh? Well, You can still recover. Here is how:

Some waivers are enforceable. So you may be out of luck. However, a liability waiver is not enforceable when it 
1. offends public policy;
2. is for activities within the public interest exception; OR
3. is unclear and ambiguous. (Pearce v. Utah Athletic Fund, AKA Boring legal citation).

1. What offends public policy? Almost nothing... Ok, not really. But it is hard to prove what public policy is in order to prove that it has been offended. Public policy is best proven by legislative actions, or statutes. Many statutes will tell you what their purposes are. Those purposes are considered public policy. 
      An example would be skiing. You sign a waiver for skiing, is it enforceable? No. That's because in the Utah Inherent Risks of Skiing Statute, the legislature said it is public policy to allow ski resorts to levy the burden of their negligence. A waiver, then, offends or contradicts that public policy. (whew, you're safe there.)
     Other examples: Product Liability within 78B-6-707; Construction liability under 13-8-1(2);  and Parent's waivers of childrens' rights under Hawkins v. Peart. 

2. What are activities within the public interest exception? Not something you likely do. These are public services. Need I say more? Here is a legal citation is you want it:  Berry v. Greater Park City Co., 2007 UT 87. Believe me, this exception does not apply to you. 

3. What is unclear and ambiguous? A lot. This is where the majority of the cases are won. A liability waiver is not valid unless it is unequivocal and can be easily understood by the average person. 

Besides a few exceptions, a liability waiver is usually enforceable. It is the age old battle between a contractual right and a tort liability right. As always, consult your attorney.