Limiting Your Liability

By Sandra Mihaloff and David Mullins 

Take the sting out of potential lawsuits by insuring yourself at off-site venues.

The rented hall is packed, and the buzz of the audience fades as the curtain rises. Everything is going great until a dancer falls, spraining her ankle. You take her offstage and seek medical care, and the show goes on. You think nothing of the incident until you receive a letter from a lawyer, saying you are being sued for negligence.

Could this scenario happen to you if your students are injured while performing at an off-site event, such as a recital or competition? In a word, yes. If a student is hurt, the studio and the teacher can be held liable for negligence. A plaintiff’s attorney can always set forth a theory of negligence, whether legitimate or not. This can result in a lengthy and costly court battle, which could damage your reputation as well as your pocketbook.

How can you protect yourself and your business? Though each claim situation is different, you can follow some general guidelines to safeguard your interests.

Please Release Me!

Step one is to make sure you’ve got all the necessary, signed releases on file. A release is a document that limits our liability if a student is injured on your premises or as result of your instruction. You should have two kinds of releases—one for the everyday activities at your studio and one for competitions held off-site.

For children under age 18, both parents, if possible, should sign releases for competitions and everyday practice. Whether or not these releases will be enforceable depends heavily on state law. No one release is operative in every state, so you will need to seek the assistance of an attorney. If you belong to a state dance association, it may be able to help you draft a release.

It is essential to file all releases in a safe place— and keep them. Do not throw them away after the child leaves your program or the competition is completed. Because most students and competitors are children, they may have the right to sue you long after the injury date and their departure from your dance studio. If you throw away the release, you will lose an important part of your legal defense.

How long should you keep releases? That depends on the child’s age and your state’s statute of limitations. For example, if a child is 5 years old and you live in Virginia, where the statute of liability is 2 years, you would need to keep the release for 15 years—13 years until the child reaches age 18, and another 2 years for the statute. This may seem like a long time to keep a piece of paper, but this simple precaution may save you many thousands of dollars if you are sued.

Hold Harmless

A landlord will probably ask you to sign a “hold harmless” agreement if you rent space to hold a competition, exhibition, or recital. This agreement states that the landlord is not responsible if a student or spectator is injured during the event. For example, if a student breaks a wrist during a competition or a parent sprains an ankle while walking to his seat, you, not the landlord, can be sued. If you are asked to sign a hold harmless agreement, make sure that it says that the property owner will be held harmless only for claims arising from your actions, activities, or operations.

Because hold harmless agreements granted to property owners are all-encompassing, thoroughly inspecting the rental space for safety hazards and defects to the premises is essential. If you find defects, ask the landlord (verbally and in writing) to fix them before the performance begins. How do you know what to look for? Here are some tips for inspecting a rented site:

• Check lighting of steps, aisles, and emergency exits.

Make sure the steps are visible and the aisles have no hidden hazards that someone could trip over when the lights are dimmed.

• Inspect parking areas and sidewalks.

Look for anything people might trip over, such as potholes and broken curbs.

• Eliminate internal tripping hazards.

Make sure that electrical cords and sound-system wires are taped down. Check carpeting and mats for areas that have pulls or lumps, and make the landlord aware of the hazard.

• Check the performance floor.

If you apply rosin to the stage floor, do so sparingly; an excessive amount can become a tripping hazard. Remove gym bags, extra clothes and shoes, and stage props from walking paths. Designate a specific storage area for these items and block that area off to guests.

Also plan on taking some safety precautions before and during the performance:

• Do a walk-through of the venue, checking the walkways, aisles, and bathrooms before the performance begins and every half-hour during the performance. Document your results.

• Designate someone to clean spills immediately and monitor restrooms every 30 minutes for hazardous floor conditions. Document your activities.

• Keep parents and other spectators out of restricted areas like dressing rooms.

• Equip ushers with flashlights to guide latecomers to their seats in the darkened auditorium.

Transportation

If you (or another teacher) transport students to an outside event in your own vehicle and an accident occurs, you, not the business, would be liable for negligence. Auto insurance follows the car, so your personal auto insurance would be the first to pay a claim. Therefore, you need to review your policy to determine whether you are covered while driving for business purposes typically you are not. For this reason, it’s wise for your dance studio to carry commercial auto coverage with higher limits than your personal auto policy. At the very least, add an endorsement to your general liability policy that covers personal vehicles used for business as well as rented vehicles, such as buses used to transport students to a performance. In insurance terms these are called “non-owned and hired vehicles.” This additional coverage will protect you if other non-owned cars are used, such as those of parents who volunteer to drive groups of children to and from outside venues.

Ask Your Agent

Set aside some time to meet with your insurance agent to ensure that you are adequately covered for the many liability situations that can arise in your dance business. It’s also a good idea to consult with your attorney to draw up the specific legal documents that your state requires.

As always, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. By following these guidelines, you give yourself and your business the extra protection you need when you conduct off-site activities.