Anyway, I am going.
 

A landowner and his brother I have hunted on for several years, again gave me permission(in an odd way). But this is how its given now..........."you can continue to hunt on us because if we see you we are not going to say anything, but if you get hurt on our land we didn't give you permission.":eek: Huh? I didn't say anything because I understood and we continued our conversation. Thats fine by me although I would much rather have written permission. They have told a few others who hunt on some of their land the same thing. The brothers told me they are not a bit worried about me trying to sue them if anything happened, but are afraid my spouse or other relatives might try. No matter what I tell them, they are not impressed with Illinois liability laws. Guess I can't blame them after their insurance agent fills their heads and threatens to raise their insurance rates if they give "permission". My, how times have changed.[>:]

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

yea times are different but i think this was handled the right way. you have permission to hunt however if you hurt yourself you know it is on your shoulders not the landowners. there is a tree stand at one of my hunting spots where a few people hunt and on the ladder their is a sign that reads "this is my treestand, however i do not mind if you use it. the stand is very sturdy however climb at your own risk. please do not tamper with the stand and i hope you get a big one"

anyhow good luck and hopefully you'll get a big un'

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Definitely a reflection of the times. The days when a handshake and a man's word were good enough are long gone. Sounds like nice enough folks though. Good luck on the new/old property.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Here in Indiana, we now have a form right in our reg's that landowner and hunter can sign stating that there is absolutely NO liability on the landowner's part, it's a total sign off of liability, should be able to help with finding land for some folks...

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

A standard form like that should be offered in all states so that the landowners could rest their minds and not worry about losing the farm if somebody gets hurt.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

YUP,...it's thing of the times. In fact, our landlord has had us sign a legal thingy a couple years. This year he didn't, but last year he did. In it were such things as we're responsible for the use/misuse or anyone getting hurt etc using anything we bring into the woods or leave in the woods. They outlined where we were to dress deer etc. It's a result of a lawsuit crazy world.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Yea, everyone is scared of everybody. I have to sign a waiver on the land
I hunt too.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

You go Cougar and bring home the big boy!!!!!!!!!

I only once had to sign a waiver years ago in my honey hole. I haven't had to renew it but it does seem silly to me. I guess if your sitting on a pile of money you earned through hard work you want to keep it.

Good luck!

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

hopefully they'lltrust you but then again they do have a point...hopefully y'all will come up with a nice compromise of some sort...good luck and be safe.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

The blame goes to the legal environment and the lack of responsibility people take for their own actions!These things have decent people acting much more defensively than ever.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

At least you get to hunt their...... :D

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

I've been told the same thing on a couple of the properties that I hunt. These days I can't blame the landowners for taking this approach.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

people are sue crazy

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Regardless if you had "permission" or not they could still be liable. Just like when burglars break in and get hurt and they sue the owners.

Here in MN, permission to hunt does not make the land owner liable for injury to the hunter he gave permission too.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Go to the local office supply store and get a "Hold Harmless Agreement" once you both sign and have it notarized. This will releive all liability from the home owner and you will be able to have written permission.

My hunt club "lease" we all sign one because the landloard wants to assure he is not going to be sued. Your bank should notorize it for free.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

In Virginia, concerns about legal liability forhunters prompted theVirginia General Assemblyto adoptVirginia Code Section 29.1-509 in 1982. This law exempts landowners who provide "recreation"(aka: hunting) opportunities to the public from liability or injury, or damages providing:

landowner does not charge a fee other than that necessary to cover taxes and
there is no gross negligence or "willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use or structure" on the property.
[ul][/ul]
This code helpsproperty ownerswith liability, butlandowners should always consider insuring the property subject to casualty and obtain comprehensive liability insurance.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

something smells fishy!!

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

You are lucky that you can still hunt there. About 10 years ago on a farm I had permission to hunt on, a hunter fell and broke his femur. I guess he called one of those lawyer firms that advertise on TV and sued the land owner. I got a call from the land owner before the season was even over saying that I could not hunt there anymore. I understood, although it took a while, the land owner's position but man was I pissed at that hunter. 2 years later, similar thing happened on another farm.

The problem I see with release forms is that they really don't mean a hill of beans in court unless there is some form of state code releasing liability. Lawyers will just pick them apart.

The fact that land owners should buy insurance just to cover this type of liability really hurts a hunter's chance of getting permission.

RE: Anyway, I am going.
 

Illinois used to have a standard form of waived liability for protection of landowners but it was ruled unconstitutional when somebody's kid got hurt sledding and the guy sued. The new way things were interpreted was that if you gave no permission you at least had some protection but if you gave permission to one person you were liable for all people, hence the reluctance of many landowners to give any permission.. The Farm Bureau and Ag newspapers published a bunch of stories about it last year and it scared off a lot of farmers from giving permission. And I won't even say what the lawyers and insurance agents will tell you when tou talk to them about it.

If you are looking for someone to blame, don't blame the lawyers.. Blame your neighbors and coworkers who look at these cases as jury members, see a kid with a broken leg and an insurance company/land ownerwith a big bank account and don't care if the lawsuit is baseless or not.