Performing at a festival and have been asked to sign a liability waiver. Standard stuff, I understand.

But, I have liability insurance to protect me in case I damage their property. Now I sign something saying they aren't responsible if they damage mine, or even injure me.

So, where does this leave me in case something happens? What kind of insurance am I looking for to protect my own wellbeing at a show?

And given that I'm signing this waiver, is it standard practice to ask for some kind of verification that the stage they use is being put up correctly, has been inspected, etc? Are there other things that I should worry about/ask about in this regards?

I'm not actually worried about this particular event. It's just the first time I've been asked to sign such a waiver, and it made me wonder... well, where's that leave me/us?

I think if its all one way traffic to suit them, I wouldn't sign it.

I was asked to perform at a mall and they gave me same kind of liability waiver to sign. What scared me is what scares you: They are not liable if anything happens to me.

I declined signing it and declined the show.

You never know what will happen and giving yourself no recourse of something happens is not smart.

I'm not an attorney but I am smart enough to know that something could happen to me and I don't want to give up my rights.

Josh

Call your insurer and ask them about this.

Ross, insurance people are not the same as attorneys. It'd be wiser to call an attorney. But of it's already leaving a bad taste in your mouth don't do it.

Josh

I spoke with a lawyer about this a week ago -- casually, as it was a friend's fiancee.

This is apparently quite standard, and just part of the territory.

I'm still looking into it though, and figuring out what I need to insure myself personally.

Your insurance is to protect you, the waiver is to protect them.

Sounds fair to me.

To protect yourself you need insurance. Then you covered.

I'm not a lawyer, but I do have experience with waivers. The waiver will protect them if your insurance fails to cover you. Yes, waivers are standard business with many.

Still, waivers are good but it's not a guarantee that you can't sue them if something happens and it wasn't your fault. A wavier doesn't give them permission to put you in harms way.

Tom

Talk to a lawyer on the clock.

I've never been asked to sign a waiver, but I am frequently asked for a copy of my liability insurance. That seems more than reasonable. Occasionally, the client says I have to add them to my insurance as additional insured. I'm happy to do that as well, but I pass the expense on to the client. (I don't pay for other people's insurance.)

I once saw this happen with my own eyes. I was at a reception in a hotel. There was a professional DJ there with professional equipment. He did his job well. He was stationed on risers that provided by the hotel that were about 2 feet high (my guess.) At one point, the legs of one riser folded under it, and the large speaker on it, fell to the floor. The speaker was damaged in the fall. How severely I can't say. It may have been a $10 wiring fix, or a total loss; I don't know. The DJ limped through the rest of the show on the one remaining speaker. At several times I could see the DJ having heated arguments with people I guessed were managers of some level or another. I don't know how this issue was resolved, but it is real, and I am sure stuff like that happens all the time. This is what insurance is for.

If there is a waiver in place like what is being discussed here, the hotel would be held blameless for this incident. I think it happened because the person setting up the risers did a substandard job, or it was the wrong equipment for the load, or the riser mechanism was faulty. The riser holding the other speaker had no such fault.

Did the DJ have insurance for that? Probably, but should his insurance have had to pay? I am not comfortable with a rule that basically says if we screw up, that is too bad for you. If I screw up, I need to stand behind what I do, and so should a venue.

I am NOT an attorney, what I am preaching here is plain old common sense.

NEGLIGENCE CAN NOT BE WAIVED!

Read that again guys. ALSO what this means is that if YOU are negligent it falls on you also.

Talk with a lawyer. One you are paying, who knows about these things.

Phil,
Why sign? Have them re-write the contract to meet your needs/wants. I do it several times a year.

The worst thing you can do (which is what most magicians do) is just sign away, without considering the consequences.

Best wishes,
Kevin

Actually I think the worst thing to do is proceed without knowing the law. That is where a lawyer comes in. How would he know what to rewrite without asking?