Recreation and Risk: The Book, The Website, The Links to Liability Waivers

From time to time, liability waivers and exculpatory agreements have been a topic for the Blog. There was plenty of interest in the subject in connection with the OceanGate disaster in 2023. We also weighed in on the subject in connection with McKamey Manor,  

Last year, William Gordon Childs published Recreation and Risk, which provides a cross-doctrinal primer on the law by looking at the way recreational venues handle the risk of liability. This is not a review of the book, which I haven’t read, but simply a pointer to the website, where Professor Childs has gathered resources relating to exculpatory agreements and liability waivers, including materials relating to McKamey Manor.

The resources page focuses on incidents that occurred at amusement parks and other attractions. It provides links to court filings, including the relevant legal documents, as well as a spreadsheet on statutory schemes to regulate risk-avoidance devices in the recreation industry. This is probably more of interest to torts folks, but there are contractual elements as well, given the common practice of having patrons of recreational venues sign exculpatory agreements. It may provide materials that people could consider incorporating into their discussions (if they include such matters in their courses) of contractual waivers of liability.