Need insurance for a motorcross track?

[TGW_400ex]

My friend recently built a motocross track in his back yard. He works at a repair shop so hes been telling people there about it. Everytime I go out there is atleast 6 riders. I kind of have legal doubts on this because he is making everyone sign waivers that he found on the internet. Is that honestly enough? I would think he would need liability insurance or something.

A MX track down here was being sued because this kid died on it. It was his fault and he had signed the waiver and that was the debate saying a waiver doesnt mean squat. Kinda sad to see places have to worry about being sued because some kid goes ou there and tries to do something he shouldnt. The kid broke his legs or something on the jump and then when he heeled everyone said stay off of it so he went and hit it again killing himself. Not the tracks fault just someone inexperienced being stupid.

[TGW_400ex]

Originally posted by FlewByU352
A MX track down here was being sued because this kid died on it. It was his fault and he had signed the waiver and that was the debate saying a waiver doesnt mean squat. Kinda sad to see places have to worry about being sued because some kid goes ou there and tries to do something he shouldnt. The kid broke his legs or something on the jump and then when he heeled everyone said stay off of it so he went and hit it again killing himself. Not the tracks fault just someone inexperienced being stupid.


So basically it isn't enough?

Originally posted by TGW_400ex
So basically it isn't enough?

Well from what everyone thought it was enough but I guess dumb lawers proved that to be worth nothing. I didnt happen to find out the rest of the case and what ended up happening. I thought the track closed up but I will have to find the story online and see the turnout. If they are real good buddies I would say a waiver is fine but people you dont know closely insurance might be a good thing.

[TGW_400ex]

Originally posted by FlewByU352
Well from what everyone thought it was enough but I guess dumb lawers proved that to be worth nothing. I didnt happen to find out the rest of the case and what ended up happening. I thought the track closed up but I will have to find the story online and see the turnout. If they are real goo buddies I would say a waiver is fine but people you dont know closely insurance might be a good thing.

Yea he doesn't know everyone that good. I personally wouldn't do what hes doing. Hes the kind of guy that knows it all so you can't tell him anything. I didn't know you could just print waivers off the internet either.

[79400ex]

A waiver is only as go as the paper it is written. A waiver can be broken by a good lawyer. There is alot tracks that are being sued that people signed a waiver. If I was him I would check into get some good liabitly insurnce. I would say as much as 1 milloin dollar coverage. If can't get any then I would limit who can ride there.

[csr250r]

Sad to see it come to this, two of my friends have tracks, one has people sign a waiver the other only lets close friends ride on his. I only let close friends ride my track... makes you think though.

[Quad18star]

Waivers don't mean jack in court ... nor do No Trespassing signs ... trust me.

Liability insurance is the only way to cover your butt , and the only way to make sure you don't go broke after a lawsuit.
You honestly don't want to know what the legal fees are on some cases and trust me , you don't want to pay them.

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by 79400ex
I would say as much as 1 milloin dollar coverage. If can't get any then I would limit who can ride there.

2 million liability is even better and I would recommend it. If someone gets killed or paralyzed on the track , that 1 million is gone in no time and you're stuck forking out the rest.

If I had a track , the only people I'd let ride it , is me. May not be much fun , but atleast I ain't going to sue myself. There's plenty of stories out there of "good friends" sueing there friends ... hell even family sueing there own family.

Originally posted by Quad18star
There's plenty of stories out there of "good friends" sueing there friends ... hell even family sueing there own family.

very true. I would trust a few of my friends and their families to accept the fact that it was their fault and not the owner.

[MX MaNiAc 06]

I've got some jumps in my back yard and I've dealt with a few ppl breaking bones. They are all my close friends and I have talked to their parents before they rode. Also, I have hit every jump on the person's quad before they have so I could tell them what gear and how fast. My jumps are kinda clear it or get hurt haha So i have to be cautious who I have over and what they do.

I'm kinda picky about who I let ride at my place. There hasnt been more than 10-12 ppl who have ridden my track. You just gotta watch who you're dealing with.

[Motoracer13]

I got a great deal on a KTM 250EXC dirtbike because the owner was sued by his friend of 17 years. The friend asked to ride it and the owner said "ok". The owner tried to hand him a helmet and friend said "I dont need it Im just gonna ride around the yard a bit."
Owner told me " He revved the motor real high. The he did it again and I got a sick feelling in my stomach. Before I could do or say anything on the 3rd rev he dropped the clutch. The bike wheelied away about 10-15 feet before looping out. My friend landed flat on his *****."
The friend broke his back and was paralized from the waist down. He sued the owner for over $1,000,000.00 in damages caused by;

1. Failure to provide proper safety equipment.
2. Failure to provide proper instruction.
3. Faulty equipment causing personal harm.

I bought a $3500ish dollar dirtbike for $1500 with a gear bag filled with gear,tools,spares,t-shirts, and even a ballcap. The guy wanted absolutely nothing to do with dirtbikes. It cost him a friendship a house and a marriage.

MORAL OF THIS %100 TRUE STORY=TRUST NO ONE!!!!!

[Quad18star]

Originally posted by Motoracer13
I got a great deal on a KTM 250EXC dirtbike because the owner was sued by his friend of 17 years. The friend asked to ride it and the owner said "ok". The owner tried to hand him a helmet and friend said "I dont need it Im just gonna ride around the yard a bit."
Owner told me " He revved the motor real high. The he did it again and I got a sick feelling in my stomach. Before I could do or say anything on the 3rd rev he dropped the clutch. The bike wheelied away about 10-15 feet before looping out. My friend landed flat on his *****."
The friend broke his back and was paralized from the waist down. He sued the owner for over $1,000,000.00 in damages caused by;

1. Failure to provide proper safety equipment.
2. Failure to provide proper instruction.
3. Faulty equipment causing personal harm.

I bought a $3500ish dollar dirtbike for $1500 with a gear bag filled with gear,tools,spares,t-shirts, and even a ballcap. The guy wanted absolutely nothing to do with dirtbikes. It cost him a friendship a house and a marriage.

MORAL OF THIS %100 TRUE STORY=TRUST NO ONE!!!!!

Did the guy have insurance on the dirtbike?

I was hit by a kid on a dirtbike a few years back. He had no insurance , was underage to be driving in a public area and was at fault for not knowing his surroundings ( ie where other people were at). It resulted in a lawsuit that took over 4 years to settle. Like I said , you wouldn't believe the amount of money it takes to go through a lawsuit. I'm just glad I had insurance , and I'll tell you one thing ... I will never go without insurance. You think you're up **** creek with a lawsuit ... try it without insurance. :eek:

[dustin_j]

If a friend rides at your track and wrecks, requiring medical attention, they could choose not to sue and let their health insurance cover it. However, as soon as the insurance company finds out the friend wrecked on your property, won't they try to sue you, even if the friend didn't want to?

A similar situation to this is happening to my neighbor, though it was related to a car accident rather than an ATV.

[Raptorchick]

Originally posted by dustin_j
If a friend rides at your track and wrecks, requiring medical attention, they could choose not to sue and let their health insurance cover it. However, as soon as the insurance company finds out the friend wrecked on your property, won't they try to sue you, even if the friend didn't want to?



Most health insurance companies will send out a form for you to fill out asking what happened. If an injury or accident involving an ATV or dirtbike (as they are not licensed for road use) happens on a family or friend's property, they will not pursue a claim and just pay the cost of the medical bills. They cannot pursue a lawsuit, they can only deny payment on your medical bills, but if you have filed a claim with the family or friend's home owner's or liability insurance, then they will go after repayment from the other involved insurance company, or do a subrogation claim where both insurances will split the cost of the bills, but not collect directly from the property owner.

However, there are many health insurance companies that put clauses in their policies now excluding injuries caused by ATV's, dirtbikes, or other "risky" activities and will not pay for your medical bills.

[TWISTED]

Originally posted by Quad18star
2 million liability is even better and I would recommend it. If someone gets killed or paralyzed on the track , that 1 million is gone in no time and you're stuck forking out the rest.

If I had a track , the only people I'd let ride it , is me. May not be much fun , but atleast I ain't going to sue myself. There's plenty of stories out there of "good friends" sueing there friends ... hell even family sueing there own family.


This is what I have..... If you have anybody other than yourself riding on this property, you would be stupid not to have it.... Also my policy states that if I receive payment for letting somebody ride, the policy is null and void... Just something to think about...... Signs and waivers don't mean SQUAT!!!!

[dustin_j]

Originally posted by raptorchick
Most health insurance companies will send out a form for you to fill out asking what happened. If an injury or accident involving an ATV or dirtbike (as they are not licensed for road use) happens on a family or friend's property, they will not pursue a claim and just pay the cost of the medical bills. They cannot pursue a lawsuit, they can only deny payment on your medical bills, but if you have filed a claim with the family or friend's home owner's or liability insurance, then they will go after repayment from the other involved insurance company, or do a subrogation claim where both insurances will split the cost of the bills, but not collect directly from the property owner.

However, there are many health insurance companies that put clauses in their policies now excluding injuries caused by ATV's, dirtbikes, or other "risky" activities and will not pay for your medical bills.

Thank you for clearing that up, it was a concern I had when I originally read this thread.

[ALAMX37]

I had a practice track for a little over a year. Two friends got hurt pretty bad, so I just stopped letting anyone ride there, because the ones friends parents threatned to sue. It blows me away, thats like jumping off a building and blaming the owner. You know the risk. Its just the way the world works today, *****ty people wanting to come up by whatever means present themselves.

[ALAMX37]

Originally posted by raptorchick
Most health insurance companies will send out a form for you to fill out asking what happened. If an injury or accident involving an ATV or dirtbike (as they are not licensed for road use) happens on a family or friend's property, they will not pursue a claim and just pay the cost of the medical bills. They cannot pursue a lawsuit, they can only deny payment on your medical bills, but if you have filed a claim with the family or friend's home owner's or liability insurance, then they will go after repayment from the other involved insurance company, or do a subrogation claim where both insurances will split the cost of the bills, but not collect directly from the property owner.

However, there are many health insurance companies that put clauses in their policies now excluding injuries caused by ATV's, dirtbikes, or other "risky" activities and will not pay for your medical bills.


LOL every time I have went in for a quad injury I always say I fell off a ladder or something like that. Our insurance is one of the ones that wont cover you.