Private trails and liability concerns

[DeadBattery]

I'm tossing around the idea of having an occasional invite-only RC sessions at my house but I've got concerns regarding being held liable if someone gets injured while on the property.

I currently have a smaller crawling course setup which isn't much of an issue, but the additional acreage which contains mud\trees\rocks\hills may pose an issue if someone were to follow a trail and fall\get injured.


How do other people who have events at their private residence handle things like this?

[Browneye]

Talk to your insurance agent. Likely you're fine as long as you're not charging, and if you are worried about it then have them sign a liability release for before going out to crawl.

[JatoTheRipper]

Lawsuits usually boil down to who has the better lawyer. Unfortunately, right and wrong no longer rules. You could have your lawyer draft up a waiver, but even those are defeated by "better" lawyers.

Most people that would come to your property for fun probably are't going to be scumbags looking for a lawsuit. I'd say start out small and invite a few people. You can usually get a sense of a person's character the first time you meet them.

[MAC FAB]

At least its crawling and not a go fast session where someone could get hit by the fast car. Your other concern would be who do you want at your house? If you're out in the back 20, no worries. At the house, do you need to guard the valuables? I am on the other end of the spectrum in sorts, my drive spot is on private property and I know of the owner, but haven't met him. Was hiking there Saturday to see how it looks after recent rains, and nope, way too much brush to catch on fire so something go south, which would easily turn into hundreds of burning acres. I'll be the responsible one and abstain. As long as you aren't holding a "sanctioned" event, with you as the promoter, and don't charge as mentioned, that relieves some of the bad juju. Get to know the invitees and it is probably a non-issue. However, as Jato stated, sue happy people do just that, find reason to sue. Don't want to sound like the total downer, just be educated on your potential liabilities.

[mass-hole]

Just tell the police the person was trespassing.

[brimdogg]

Originally Posted by mass-hole

Just tell the police the person was trespassing.

I like your thinking!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Sneetches]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Lawsuits usually boil down to who has the better lawyer. Unfortunately, right and wrong no longer rules. You could have your lawyer draft up a waiver, but even those are defeated by "better" lawyers.

Most people that would come to your property for fun probably are't going to be scumbags looking for a lawsuit. I'd say start out small and invite a few people. You can usually get a sense of a person's character the first time you meet them.

Pretty much agree with this, but I'd still have people do waivers anyways, just so you have everyone allowed "on file" so to speak.

[DeadBattery]

Thanks for the input so far! It would just be a for-fun thing. Not too much fun with the faster electric\gas\nitro vehicles.

and I completely agree with starting off with 1 or 2 people over to see how things go.

[nightcrawler48]

Get involved with the local crawler/trailing groups in your area. You'll meet people, get to know them, and develop closer friendships with those who suit your style. Then invite a couple of them to join you for a few hours at your place.

[vf750rider]

I'll sign a waiver!! Can I come and play?

[Browneye]

Ya, I have draft waivers if you need one. We had 250 riders out for a group camp event, not an 'organized ride', so they signed a waiver that they were on their own.
If some dipshit breaks his ankle its on him. Crawling is relatively safe compared to adventure bike riding.

[GCi in ATX]

In general your homeowners/land owners insurance has as general liability clause, and some may have a medical clause as well (ie a tree limb falls on someone and breaks their arm, and they'd like you pay for the medical cost). If you are charging, then they will NOT cover you as that would require commercial/business insurance. You can always get supplemental insurance for a day, just talk to you agent/broker and explain your concern. In general you can get a $1,000,000 general and $1,000,000 medical policy for a reasonable cost. I'd hazard under a $100 for non-commercial event with a small (under 50) group. Heck even ask people to chip in $5 and explain what's up. If the option is I pay out of pocket for injury, or my $5 covers my medical bills, I know which one I'm down for.

[svt923]

I'd say it largely depends on who you are planning on inviting. No one gets a waiver to have their buddies over for a cook out, having buddies over to crawl isn't much different.

However if the only thing you know about the other guys is they like RC, then a waiver might be a good idea.

[Rocky Heap]

tread lightly, be respectful.

basically, chill.