Ok foks, just to fill you in one what the crack is ..........

I'm looking for a bit of serious help here and first and foremost I thought this may well be the best place to ask/enquire.

Just to fill you all in on the basics - there's a charity auction coming up locally fairly soon with all the moneys raised going to a very good cause. The organisers and folk in charge have been looking for and requesting objects and activities etc to be donated which they will then auction off on the night with the prize/s going to the highest bidder and cash raised to help various facilities and things around our wee village.

Now, I have offered my services to act as a guide and ghillie for one days salmon fishing on our local river. There's going to be a reserve to cover the day-permit cost and the lucky winner can bring their own equipment if they possess it, otherwise a refundable deposit shall be included in the final bid price to cover the repacement or partial replacement of my equipment (which they would otherwise use) should they break or damage it.

All clear so far for everyone?

I'm not making anything out of this gesture, it's just out of goodwill to help raise the funds required for the charity and restoration work that's needed in our wee village.

My problem however lies in the fact that I feel I need to have some form of 'disclaimer' so that should the guest party fall, hurt themselves or whatever during the course of our days fishing, then I'll be exempt from them trying to blame me. Of course I'll be laying down a fully comprehensive 'do's and don'ts' as far as safety protocol etc goes but in this ever-increasing libelous age one can never be too carefull and unfortunately some folks (even if they screw up themselves completely through their own fault) may try to blame myself and attempt to weasel some form of compensation out of my 'meagre' pockets.

So,..................what I'm actually looking for is would anyone on here have a particular knowledge or knack at the kinda legal wording required for such a form of (disclaimer/indemnity?) I think that's what it's called but by now I guess you've got the general drift of what it is I'm looking for. Essentially a letter/form disclaiming me from any/all mishaps that the guest/s may experience and that essentially by undertaking this days fishing they waive all rights to sue me or pursue legal recourse. Something like that anyway.

I thought that there may be some fishing guides on here or someone involved in some sort of outdoor pursuits activity who have such forms covering the usual/general aspects.............or perhaps someone with a bit of a legal background who could, in an informal and just a helpfull way knock something like that up for me.

I really do want to do this - offer my services and provide a father/son or husband/wife etc an excellent opportunity for a days (hopefully) very rewarding days fishing but of course I by no means want to end up being sued by some muppet bringing an accident entirely upon themselves when I've quite clearly outlined the safety routines and protocols that should be followed.

I hope this has all been clear enough and sincerely hope that someone can help, thereby enabling me to help raise the moneys required for this charitable work.

Many thanks indeed for any and all help which could be provided and thanks for your patience in following all the details and general gist which I've tried to convey.

P.S., a certain degree of time is of the essence as this auction is only a couple of weeks away and i was hoping that perhaps someone may happen to possess a sort of general 'one-off letter/disclaimer' which covers all or as many kind of things req'd as regards this kind of situation.

Thanks again folks

These days there are loads off activities where a simple but fairly comprehensive disclaimer must be signed before the activity or pursuit is allowed to go ahead. They all tend to follow a simple format where the guest/participant signs and agrees that the pursuit or activity is undertaken at entirely their own risk ............. it's not rocket science and these days it's almost agreed as a foregone requisite. That's the simple kind of thing which I'm looking for. There may a bit of legal jargon interspersed here and there but I aint in the position to pay for such a piece of paper written up my lawyer or equivalent and all I'm looking for is one of these straightfoward kind of things which many of us sign whilst out on a day trip, abseiling, canoeing or something like that. Surely there must be a member on here somwhere who uses/provides such a thing to the general public/visiting guests pretty much on a day to day basis? What about game parks, shooting parties etc or whatever form of employment to whish these kinds of disclaimers are routinely attached.

That's all I'm looking for, a kind of general but fairly relaxed catch-all form to which my guest/s can sign (realising that there is little risk involved in the pursuit probably, but prrhaps with a very slight chance of a mishap which would most probably be brought on by their own misfortune, dicking-around or neglect in simply following common sense.

I'm doing this outta the goodness of my heart and the the cash raised is for the very best of charitable use and for a good cause. But at the very least I would like to have a minimal form of some kind of disclosurerwritten on paper to 'watch my back' in case someone tries to cash in on summat caused by their own negligence or simple dicking around on their part.

I'm going to do this regardless, it's not an ego thing but summat i feel strongly about, summat I can do very well I can also raise a very considerable sum of money for the charity. If no-one on here can help then I'll just have to knock up some sort of my own form of disclaimer outlining the guests requirements and obligations, repercussions should they **** up of their own volition but that's really going to be very adhoc and far from ideal. So guys and girls......that's why I'm respectfully and politely asking you for some help in at least the wording of such a disclaimer, or better still, some kind of relatively commonplace kind of disclaimer bit of paperwork which is generally used in situations such as this and other outdoor/ fieldsports/ extreme sport kind of pursuits.

Please try and help as best you can and i'll be eternally gratefull - this charitable auction thing is for the church, a local community hall, provisions for mothers and children in our local village hall's daycare centre, repairs to a historic and very old clocktower and I doubt that anyone could argue that such a charitable act on my part wouldn't do anything more than a lot of good for our own wee local community. Please put your brain gears into action folks and see if you could come up with something which would not only help prevent me from being 'mugged' by some imoral and avaricious, money-grabbing a**hole who's after summat for nothing and all caused by his own self neglect or arsing around.

Many thanks folk, I hope you can come up with something which, although it may not be 100% watertight would certainly be seen favourably by the authorities should anything go wrong and some muppet tries to blame me for his own incompetence. It'd really spoil things if just a case of a money-grabbing opportunist and immoral money-grabber tried to take the **** and ruin an otherwise well-intentioned and charitable act on my part.

Many thanks people.

Any and all help appreciated and at the end of the day it's something I'm going to do anyway for the benefit our our wee, local community but I'd just rather possess a bit of re-assurance in paper form, signed by the guest/guests to help cover my back, you know?


Cheers, and regards,

Sam

The Wild Troiut Trust auction catalogue just a condition that

"All Lots in the WTT 2011 Auction must be taken during the 2011 season unless otherwise stated and are taken at one’s own risk". Can the organisers make this a condition of the auction?

Hope that is of some help

Regards
Peter

__________________
Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans
John Lennon

http://walksandfishes.blogspot.com/

by telling people you make a verbal contract, if you need to go further write it down and get them to sign and it becomes a written contract.

thats for them, if you endanger them without qualification in the activity you are still liable, insurance is what professionals use, to get insurance you need qualifications, within which is the relevant health and safety etc. state over 18 only for obvious reasons.

i personally think you worry too much, its just a fun day out.

if you have public liability it should cover this, as long as you have not caused the accident...i.e leaving a rod or bag for someone to trip on etc.

i would of thought if they fall over a rock then it would be the land owners fault....

__________________

If I was asked to sign a disclaimer it could be argued that the person signing it is assuming that the person organising and taking the event is suitably qualified and holds the required certification.If not,then it could be that it was signed under false pretence.

Good deeds are all well and good,but its only when the questions are brought into actual practice that they dont mean much in court.

first thing a judge could ask is "What qualifications do you have" answer I" have fished for 100 years "may not be enough in this day and age.

thats for them, if you endanger them without qualification in the activity you are still liable, insurance is what professionals use, to get insurance you need qualifications, within which is the relevant health and safety etc. state over 18 only for obvious reasons.


very true ,so I would advise caution and hope someone can give some advice.
public liability is expensive for a a good reason,your dealing with the public and it is a sueing world we live in today.

I wish you well with it,but put yourself first and make sure you are well covered yourself,especially if children are involved.

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Kevin

We have a saying 'No good deed goes unpunished' often times this comes true even if the punishment is only in the form of worry and stress upon you as in this matter. If in fact you are a pro and are insured and licensed your worries are few. If not this is a gray area in the world of laws and libels.

If I were he** bent on donating this service for good will I would probably just take whomever won fishing, be careful, shake their hand at the end of it and perhaps have made a new acquaintance at the end of the day. Conversely if this were keeping me awake at night I would seek said disclaimer, get it signed, and never make such an offer again in any faith good or otherwise. Look on the bright side would you, at least you don't worry that some poor townie will be mauled or compeltely eaten by an Alaskan Brown Bear. See, there's always an upside

Ard

Are you doing this on behalf of a Club?
If so then the likelihood is they have Public Liability insurance, and you would be covered under their insurance.

I am a General Committee member of a well and long established angling club, and we are members of the Angling Trust, as part of that we subscribe to Fish Legal that provides the majority of our insurances.

If you are an individual and not qualified, and not doing guiding for a living, I would suggest joining the Angling Trust and discussing with them how to cover yourself, as a Disclaimer is not worth the paper it is written on if their is an accident. I am afraid in this day and age you have to be qualified and covered by insurance.

I used to give away smoked trout I had caught and smoked myself to a local old peoples home, then one day the manager told me as I was not a registered food supplier I could not longer provide them with the trout............. Pity as the old folks loved it!

whats the worst that can happen?

Ok, 1st and foremost many thanks to everyone opinons and inputs - they've given me food for thought as far as I'm concerned.

What I am now knowledgely informed as to what it is which I am now advised to possess or require is a letter provided to the winner of the charity prize at the time when he gets his winning certificate or whatever. Essentialy the signing of the agreement goes with the prize. In a relatively 'casual' and relaxed manner, this letter outlines that although unlikely mishap should occur then as long as it isn't my direct fault, fully attributable to me and injurious to the guest through my neglect etc - then the client waives all rights. They are considered responsible for their own actions and have to accept full responsibility to follow riverside and fishing safety guidlines.

It has to be a fairly common type of letter which is used by all manner of activity pursuits, sport/leisure companies. Change the terminology and context a wee bit and just about any company could use it themselves simply by filling in the blanks/names and that basic 'just in case' form of rights/waivers could be used by 1000's of companies.

Surely someone on here could have a basic format which can then be ammended a bit if needed. It's required by both parties.

Ta