Dangerous Campgrounds

RespondingBack wrote:
Understand a public policy balancing of who should be responsible for what (example of tenters in high winds posted earlier: Act of God so nobody should be liable, partial fault of laughing downwind suing folks for not moving and putting themselves in harm's way, partial or entire fault of tenters for not having control of tent even in high winds, partial fault of campground for not doing something?).

These forms attempt to absolve campgrounds of any responsibility (which apparently may not work in some cases). But, here are some issues where the forms still are problematic even if they don't absolve campground (a chess game--distract from merits of case).

1. You will have to get court to invalidate part of the release/waiver you signed.

2. In states that make the distinction between ordinary and gross negligence, and that prohibit waiver if gross negligence, you will now have the burden of proving whether the negligence is ordinary or gross.

3. You will also have to find a way not to be paying the attorney fees and legal expenses of the campground, if they are billing you under the form agreement and sending to collection agencies.

4. Under the sample agreement another poster kindly posted, as an example, your visiting friend was hit by a campground golf cart driven by a campground employee. Despite your signing the form agreement waiving your friend's claims, he sues and wins against campground. Campground then turns around, and asks you not only to pay their attorney fees and legal expenses, but the payment to your friend (per the form agreement you signed).

Discussion to date has focused on whether the campground was negligent or grossly negligent, and whether campground could still be liable regardless of form signed.

Not much discussion as to whether your signed agreement to defend, hold barmless and indemnify campground would naturally be invalidated as well, especially with regards to indemnifying campground against third parties, like your friend hit by a golf cart or third parties like the example posted earlier of downhill laughing folks who sued the other folks trying to take down their tent in high winds and the campground. In that latter situation, if the tent folks had signed something like that sample form posted here, they could be paying for the campground's attorney fees and legal expenses, and any damages the campground is liable.

5. Nothing mentioned here re mandatory arbitration, which is also often in favor of the party specifying the arbitration. Some forms may specify mandatory arbitration, etc., and then you have even more hurdles.

It sure looks like you are going to have to make some changes to your lifestyle to avoid these onerous waivers. Don't think businesses are going to give them up voluntarily and I doubt legislation to make it easier to sue people and businesses would be a politically popular stance.
In your examples, if a campground employee ran into someone with a golf cart and caused injuries, they should be sued. Whether or not there is additional liability depends on what happened. If they ran into your friend because you and he were in a drunken fight and you shoved him into the road, the park has every right to mitigate their damages by suing you. If a tent camper loses control of his tent in a windstorm and it hits another camper, how is the park responsible for any damages? Hence the reason for the waivers, it would demonstrate to the court (should such a stupid lawsuit make it that far) that the park put the tenter on notice that winds do occur in the great outdoors (again, like any idiot didn't already know that). That such a waiver and notice was necessary in the first should be considered ridiculous. But your post indicates you think that such a lawsuit would have merit, so you are supplying your own proof that waivers are needed.
In my opinion, it should be hard to sue businesses and people. We would all benefit I the long run