Any Problems With Lawsuits?

[Guest Lechuguilla]

This is my first time at this site. I know nothing about your sport except what I've read on the internet in last day or so.

 

The sport sounds like a lot of fun. But my initial reaction was this. Let's say person A hides a cache along a creek bank in some public park. Person B sets out to locate the cache. In so doing, Person B arrives at the creek, slips and falls down the side, hits his or her head on a rock, and requires a month in the hospital.

 

Can Person B (or more likely, Person B's relatives) file a lawsuit against Person A???

 

I hate to approach a new sport with such a skeptical point of view, especially since this sport sounds so very enjoyable. But one must be realistic, in this legal culture of ours.

 

Any problems with lawsuits of this kind? Any legal disclaimers available? Any discussion of any of this?

[Guest cache_ninja]

hey, welcome

 

there is a legal disclaimer on every single cache page, take a look(pick any cache). jeremy has obviously put some thought into this/its phrasing etc.

c/n

 

[This message has been edited by cache_ninja (edited 02-02-2001).]

[Guest speed]

Actually the disclaimer says nothing about the person placing the cache. It only refers to "Grounded Inc. nor any agency, officer, or employee of Grounded Inc." and that doesn't include all of us in there. Don't mean to be too negative, but I think that door is open and it could happen.

[Guest jeremy]

I spoke with a lawyer about this a while back. Though he didn't want to make an "official" statement about this question (typical lawyer), he did say it would be incredibly (if not impossibly) difficult to sue over injury (or otherwise), if the intent of the cache was not to harm someone.

 

If you did do something malicious, that's one thing, but if you just place a cache somewhere interesting and someone gets hurt based on their own carelessness, lack of preparation, or just an accident, you can't really be held liable.

 

Grounded, Inc. has the disclaimer because we are the most visible target for such a thing, and want to make sure you understand that you play at your own risk. Not that the company (read: me) has any money anyway - Especially in a society that sues over fried chicken heads and coffee that is too hot.

 

Jeremy

[Guest jeremy]

I spoke with a lawyer about this a while back. Though he didn't want to make an "official" statement about this question (typical lawyer), he did say it would be incredibly (if not impossibly) difficult to sue over injury (or otherwise), if the intent of the cache was not to harm someone.

 

If you did do something malicious, that's one thing, but if you just place a cache somewhere interesting and someone gets hurt based on their own carelessness, lack of preparation, or just an accident, you can't really be held liable.

 

Grounded, Inc. has the disclaimer because we are the most visible target for such a thing, and want to make sure you understand that you play at your own risk. Not that the company (read: me) has any money anyway - Especially in a society that sues over fried chicken heads and coffee that is too hot.

 

Jeremy

[Guest fryed]

I've got an idea. Let's hide a "lawyer stash", say filled with people with minor injuries and couples wanting divorces, tell the lawyers where it is watch them go after it. The trick is to hide it somewhere good, like, oh I don't know, inside a volcano?

[Guest Mike_Teague]

I never worried about it, and still don't, personally.. I believe in an individual's ability to take care of themselves...

 

Originally, all we ever posted were _coordinates_ ... hard to sue someone for posting coordinates, I would figure.. "go to N50*00.000' W150*00.000', there's a good cache there! it has 100,000$ in it!"

 

As Jeremy said, as long as your cache itself is not rigged with explosives or something that will cause immediate harm, do not fear.

[Guest JADA]

It's always better to ask then to be between the rock and the hard place.

The way I see it is the sport of Geocaching is no different thean Amature (HAM) radio operators seeking out a hidden transmitter location in what is commonly referred to as a Ham Fox Hunt. Actually, the GEO hunt is much easier then the fox hunt which required hams to split up in to teams of three (units)per team to effect a triangulation on the transmitter. I personally don't recall ever being faces with any legal challanges. The basic rule to follow is no different then hunting with a bow of shot gun... that being you don't enter private property without permission to enter. Regardless of the game, be it Dear, Rabbit, Quail, hidden transmitters of GeoCache boxes, you should always respect the property of others. BTW... that also applies to placing your cache.

[Guest Ultralight]

Hmmm America, the land of the Lawsuit!

When will people learn to be responsable for their OWN actions?

 

Nobody is telling you to find a cache. no one is forcing you to go find a cache, You are solely responsable if YOU decide to go find a cache,

i cannot see how an injury recieved searching for a cache can be blamed on the cache placer?

[Guest scott]

Thats because you live in a country where the legal industry hasn't brainwashed the citizens into thinking that you do need to sue because it's always somebody else at fault!

 

I'm hoping that the type of people that geocaching attracts are not the "eternal victim" type that would follow their lawyer's advice and sue for twisting their ankle.

 

-scott

[Guest jeremy]

I was planning to keep aol users from seeing the cache coordinates, so they wouldn't get hurt...

 

Joking! We all do have to stress to folks that geocaching is a sport where you still have to be careful and prepare for emergencies out in the wilderness.

 

Lots of folks who may never read a Boy Scout Handbook may want to play, and simply step out of their car and into the brush. Everyone (especially the geocaching vetrans) need to help and remind others that it takes some preparation to find these treasures.

 

We've (US) become a pretty insulated and protected society, where a lot of folks haven't been outside except to get from their house to the car, car to the mall/work. I like the fact that the sport is encouraging folks to change their lifestyle and get some needed excercise, but it does spook me when I read some log reports.

 

Be careful out there! Especially you folks with AOL accounts!

 

Jeremy

[Guest jeremy]

I was planning to keep aol users from seeing the cache coordinates, so they wouldn't get hurt...

 

Joking! We all do have to stress to folks that geocaching is a sport where you still have to be careful and prepare for emergencies out in the wilderness.

 

Lots of folks who may never read a Boy Scout Handbook may want to play, and simply step out of their car and into the brush. Everyone (especially the geocaching vetrans) need to help and remind others that it takes some preparation to find these treasures.

 

We've (US) become a pretty insulated and protected society, where a lot of folks haven't been outside except to get from their house to the car, car to the mall/work. I like the fact that the sport is encouraging folks to change their lifestyle and get some needed excercise, but it does spook me when I read some log reports.

 

Be careful out there! Especially you folks with AOL accounts!

 

Jeremy

[Guest Cueball]

quote:

---

Originally posted by fryed:

I've got an idea. Let's hide a "lawyer stash", say filled with people with minor injuries and couples wanting divorces, tell the lawyers where it is watch them go after it. The trick is to hide it somewhere good, like, oh I don't know, inside a volcano?

---

 

Amen! Since I'm living in Hawaii right now (just bought my first GPS yesterday and look forward to hunting), I volunteer to rent a helicopter and drop that first lawyer stash right down Kiluea.

[Guest makaio]

geocaching page http://www.gpscache.com It's a shame we have to resort to this, but covering one's derrier has become the norm these days.

 

GPS Cache/Geocache hunting, like any outdoor sport, carries the risk of unforeseen hazards. We support a policy of not knowingly placing caches in areas that will create undue risk to the cache hunter. However, as conditions and cache locations may vary, it is the responsibility of the searcher to become thoroughly familiar with the conditions in the area to be searched, to adequately prepare for those conditions, and to conduct oneself safely and responsibly with respect to those conditions and with respect to his or her personal abilities and limitations. Individual Geocaches and GPS cache sponsors assume no liability for events which may occur related directly or indirectly to one's searching for a caches.

 

Do not let children hunt for GPS Caches unsupervised

 

By reading and utilizing the GPS clues posted on this web site, you acknowledge the above conditions, and accept responsibility for your own actions, and agree to hold non-liable the GPS cache sponsors, website authors, and further, agree to provide this disclaimer to any person with whom you share these GPS cache locations.