TIL a simple liability waiver saved me $8,000 last month

I was always skeptical about having customers sign liability waivers for my tree service. Felt like it would scare people off or make me look shady. But after a branch fell on a client's car in Toledo, that waiver kept me from getting sued. Has anyone else found a specific legal form that actually paid off bigger than you expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke_murray17d ago

Saved me $8,000" is the part that got my attention. Liability waivers aren't about being shady, they're about covering your ass when stuff goes wrong. People think a signature is nothing, but in court it's everything. That piece of paper proves they knew the risk and accepted it. You dodged a bullet and your business is still standing, that's the whole point.

margaret55116d ago

...and here I am still trying to get people to sign a waiver for letting my cousin borrow my lawnmower. But seriously, you're right about that signature being the whole game. I've learned the hard way that a handshake and a "no worries" doesn't hold up when someone's lawyer shows up. Your story makes me want to go back and re-read every waiver I've ever written, just to make sure I'm not missing something obvious. In my experience, you can't be too careful with that stuff, even if it makes you feel like the paranoid neighbor hoarding signed napkins.

fionat5516d ago

Holy crap, a branch fell on a car? That's a nightmare. And the waiver actually held up in court? I never would have believed it. That's a crazy specific way to save eight grand. I'm honestly shocked you didn't lose your whole business over that.