Salt Lake City, UT – People signing up for rafting, yoga and fitness activities and for virtually any group or brand-organized physical pursuit may be asked to sign a personal injury and liability waiver.
In fact, whether or not a company asks customers to sign waivers is a good way up front to assess how responsible and professional an organization is, said Brandon Lake, founder of Resmark Systems in Salt Lake City.
But instead of signing a piece of paper, today clients may be signing an on-line digital waiver form. It’s a new form and benefit of technology that’s gaining wide acceptance in the marketplace.
“Using technology to collect waivers is efficient and does away with the need to store boxes of paper forms,” added Lake. “What we’re experiencing is a surge of interest from businesses that are beginning to institute the formality of waivers thanks to the ease of the electronic process. Before this convenience they may have blown the waiver-collecting process off.”
Resmark Systems recently created and instituted WaiverSign, a digital assumption of risk and liability app. The app is designed for tour operators, yoga and martial arts studios, exercise facilities and many other businesses and venues. For more details please see http://www.waiversign.com/.
Developer Resmark Systems is the premier marketing and reservation software platform for tour operators in the adventure travel industry.
WaiverSign allows a company to create digital liability waivers, release forms and rental agreements that clients can read and sign online. This product has application for activity providers, equipment rental businesses and education facilities, among many others. WaiverSign’s benefits include legible waivers stored electronically, precluding boxes of archived, sometimes illegible waivers.
Washington, D.C., attorney Chun T. Wright, PLLC noted, “I think any business in outdoor recreation needs to have a waiver for a variety of reasons. This (digital process) is a much more efficient way of doing business. It precludes having to track down people to sign waivers and it obviates the need to have a filing system to store thousands upon thousands of waivers on paper. Anyone or any group whether formal or informal that organizes and takes people out for activities absolutely should be using waivers.” Wright helped guide the development of WaiverSign.
In Seattle, Mona McPhee of McPhee Law Office said that some 50 percent of her clients are tour operators.
“When I work with them, quite a bit of what I do relates to risk shifting, so we talk about waivers. Many of them don't collect waivers in the best manner possible. I am aware of several technological solutions to that and WaiverSign is one of them,” McPhee said. “From what I understand of the product, it implements what I would recommend as best practices for my tour operators.”
In regard to legal standing, “It would be supported in every court that I’m aware of and is something I have recommended to my clients,” McPhee added.