# Are we going to see a lot more virus liability waivers? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 6, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505 "2020-07-06T17:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/1 "2020-07-06T17:16:09Z")
It’s abundantly clear (to me, at least) that large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events will NOT be suspended until a vaccine is found. Given that, for all the fun that was made of Trump’s liability waivers for his Oklahoma stunt, it’s the only way I can think of to move forward with such events. Hell, there might be requests to sign for employees/performers… and not just from the people in charge, if it gets the money flowing to said employees and performers again. The main disadvantage, of course, is that if someone tried to sue anyway, the waiver may or may not actually hold up in court. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/2 "2020-07-06T19:39:26Z")
In my never humble opinion, from now until Election Day, every single Trump rally will require a waiver. Most likely, the volunteer staffers will be required to sign waivers, too. His Secret Service people are reportedly pissed, because they are testing positive now. One reportedly said, “I signed up to take a bullet for the President, not COVID!” ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/3 "2020-07-06T21:22:36Z")
We’ll see how things shake out but for the vast majority of people, the pain of covid-19 is being unable to work until you’re cleared. That stems directly from individual companies’ and government edicts. I am unsure how well lawsuits would go against an entertainment venue when all the damages stem from a separate entities policies rather than actual injuries suffered at the venue. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/4 "2020-07-06T21:27:50Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > His Secret Service people are reportedly pissed, because they are testing positive now. One reportedly said, “I signed up to take a bullet for the President, not COVID!” Does signing up to take a bullet for the President mean they are required to take a bullet _from_ the President? ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/5 "2020-07-06T21:33:02Z")
So, reportedly, a healthy young elite body guard is mad he might have caught covid rather than a bullet. Sounds bright as heck. “At least if I’d been shot in the face, my wife could have visited in the hospital!” Lol. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/6 "2020-07-06T21:36:39Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > So, reportedly, a healthy young elite body guard is mad he might have caught covid rather than a bullet. Sounds bright as heck. Your post sounds as insensitive as hell. The President’s deliberate and totally unnecessary actions are harming his own Secret Service agents, and you want to mock the _agents?_ ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/7 "2020-07-06T21:37:21Z")
I am mocking a “reported” comment. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/8 "2020-07-06T21:38:49Z")
Well, that is _totally_ different-so sorry. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/9 "2020-07-06T21:39:26Z")
Would you rather be shot or catch covid? Not a trick question. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/10 "2020-07-06T21:45:21Z")
No that qualifies as both a trick question _and_ a stupid question, since the former wouldn’t be the fault of the President, but the latter in the situation as described above _would_ be. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/11 "2020-07-06T21:47:03Z")
You must at least try to follow the conversation. The agent was complaining he signed up for bullets not a disease he will almost assuredly be safe from. That was his “reported” complaint. And the President’s venue choices will always include more or less chances of bullets. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/12 "2020-07-06T21:49:49Z")
Enough of this. It is one thing to join up with Trump’s suicide cult, but the recruitment of others against their will is just nasty. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/13 "2020-07-06T21:59:19Z")
Well, I would certainly agree that they should have been issued N95 masks for that duty. But presidents go into bad security situations all the time. A chance of covid infection doesn’t seem high on the list. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/14 "2020-07-06T22:12:30Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > I am unsure how well lawsuits would go against an entertainment venue when all the damages stem from a separate entities policies rather than actual injuries suffered at the venue Really? Then why were people required to sign waivers at the Trump rally in Tulsa? If lawsuits wouldn’t be successful, Trump’s people wouldn’t have required waivers. I’m not a lawyer–and neither are you–but when the CDC, the city’s mayor, and public health officials warned against holding a rally while Trump assured the public Oklahoma had “done a great job” with the coronavirus, I doubt a successful defense against lawsuits would have been a slam dunk. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/15 "2020-07-06T23:16:06Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > Really? Then why were people required to sign waivers at the Trump rally in Tulsa? If lawsuits wouldn’t be successful, Trump’s people wouldn’t have required waivers Has anyone successfully sued for catching a disease at a concert before? ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/16 "2020-07-07T00:22:54Z")
Has COVID-19 been around before? Have local authorities had to try to stop concerts during widespread, highly contagious pandemics as deadly as COVID has turned out to be? The general legal standards of liability still apply, and they apply whether you think they should or not and regardless of whether you think COVID is innocuous. If there’s a clear and present danger according to local authorities, the sponsors insist on holding the event anyway, and the featured performer has downplayed the danger, you bet courts would find the sponsor and probably the venue and performer liable. To repeat: the Trump campaign would not have required signed waivers if they weren’t worried about successful lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/17 "2020-07-07T15:21:37Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > Would you rather be shot or catch covid? Not a trick question. Wrong question. Would you rather risk a tiny chance of being shot to protect the president when he is doing what he needs to do, or would you rather risk a huge chance of catching covid because the president doesn’t give a shit about your safety? > [@nelliebly](#): > > Really? Then why were people required to sign waivers at the Trump rally in Tulsa? If lawsuits wouldn’t be successful, Trump’s people wouldn’t have required waivers. Waivers can discourage people from filing suits. 1. Defending suits is expensive even if you win 2. Discouraging valid suits from being filed in the first place can be cost effective. I am not a lawyer, and don’t know if a suit would succeed with or without the waiver. But even if it wouldn’t succeed, and even if the waiver has no legal bearing, the waiver could save a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/18 "2020-07-07T15:49:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Wrong question. Would you rather risk a tiny chance of being shot to protect the president when he is doing what he needs to do, or would you rather risk a huge chance of catching covid because the president doesn’t give a shit about your safety If I was a 25-35yr old Secret Service agent, the only reason to choose the bullets is bravado. This should be obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/19 "2020-07-07T15:57:14Z")
Yes. In Canada, some insurance companies are being sued for not paying out when clauses would seemingly imply they should. It is abundantly clear that there will be much stricter language on any event, voyage, rental, educational opportunity and in the workplace. However, regardless of the language further cases will still invoke duties of care and similar principles. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505/20 "2020-07-07T16:05:39Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > Has anyone successfully sued for catching a disease at a concert before I’m sure a groupie has sued for contracting sexually transmitted disease. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-going-to-see-a-lot-more-virus-liability-waivers/914505.md?page=2)