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Posted By Karl M
Does anyone have any idea of the validity/worth of 'enter at own risk' type notices, or any idea where information may be found?
This would be in relation to limited public access being permitted into a privately owned property.
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Posted By Bob Youel
usually such notices are not worth the paper that they are written on
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Posted By Paul Leadbetter
Karl
I agree with Bob, given the Occupier's Liability legislation.
Paul
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Posted By bereznikov
Hi Karl,
An occupier may seek to discharge his duty by displaying a warning notice. Section 2(4)(a) of the OL Act states:
- Where damage is caused to a visitor by a danger of which he has been warned by the occupier, the warning is not to be treated without more as absolving the occupier from liability, unless in all the circumstances it was enough to enable the visitor to be reasonably safe.
The legal effect of a sufficient warning under this section is to discharge any duty of care that might have been owed by the occupier. The mere fact that a warning has been given will not be sufficient to absolve the occupier. The warning must enable the visitor to take reasonable care for his own safety.
Each visitor must be given the opportunity of avoiding the danger. A notice can be used along with other methods of protecting the visitor.
An unsuitable sign might read: “Warning, dangerous premises”.
An appropriate notice might read: “Warning to all entrants on these premises. Take care."
OR
Entry to this room is expressly forbidden. The floor is liable to give way without any warning.”
It is the effect on the individual visitor that counts. Obviously though, a visual warning will be useless in protecting a visually impaired visitor.
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
"Enter at your own risk" sounds like an invitation to enter! A sign in a car park "Vehicles are parked here at your own risk" isn't meant to prohibit the parking of cars, so I don't see how this wording can read as a prohibition or a warning, it's just a useless attempt to wriggle out of liability.
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Posted By Bob Shillabeer
Signs in car parks about parking at the owners risk is nothing to do with safety. They related specifically to the possibility of thieft etc and passes the responsibility to the owner of the vehicle to ensure that al valuables tec are protected from such theft. The requirement to provide a SAFE environment i.e. preventing trips and ehsurine pedestrian walkways remains the responsibility of the car park provider.
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Posted By Bob Y
Such a warning would have little effect.
Under OLA 57 occupiers have a duty to erect warning notices however, these notices do not absolve the occupier from all responsibility unless in all circumstances it was sufficient to keep the person safe.
Duties under OLA 84 can be discharged by the issuing of an 'explicit' warning, although merely issuing the warning without it being actively enforced would have little effect, hence the old maxim "A notice without more is no defence in law".
There is more! Under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 77 it is not permissible to (attempt) to exclude liability for death or injury due to negligence by such a notice as described above.
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Posted By CFT
Karl
As already said - it basically means diddly-squat. It might have worked once, but then man used to live in a cave and have twenty wives:-) Hmmmm.
CFT
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Posted By Coshh Assessor
I didn't mean to imply that "vehicles are parked at your own risk" is anything to do with safety, I was using this as an example to show that saying something is at your own risk doesn't amount to a prohibition or warning, just a denial of responsibility.
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Posted By Swis
Cossh Assessor made a soem quite fair and logical points.
Mere displaying signs do not discharge public liability.
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Posted By AHS
An example of this maybe Beware of the Dog on your side gate.
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Posted By Karl M
many thanks for all responses.
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