My neighbor told me to skip the liability waiver for our tool library's opening day. That was a huge mistake.

When we started the Northside tool share last spring, my neighbor Mark, who helped set it up, said, 'Don't bother with the legal stuff right away, it'll scare people off. Just get the tools out there.' So for our first big event, we didn't have people sign anything. A guy borrowed a cordless circular saw, cut through the extension cord, and got a minor shock. He was fine, but he got mad and threatened to sue the library for his 'trauma.' We had zero protection. It took weeks of talking him down and we ended up giving him a brand new saw to make it go away. Cost us $200 we didn't have. Now we use a simple waiver from a template we found online for every single loan. Has anyone else had to learn the hard way about insurance or liability forms? What do you use?

2 comments

2 Comments

hart.charlie12d ago

Man, that's a rough way to learn that lesson. It's so easy to want to skip the paperwork and just get a community project going. That exact fear of scaring people off is real. We had a similar scare with a community garden, someone tripped over a hose. A basic waiver is just non-negotiable now, even if it feels silly. It protects everyone, including the people running the thing. Really glad you got it sorted, even though it cost you.

grant90111d ago

Ever try a simple online waiver form, @hart.charlie?