Can you be held responsible if a dog that you trained six months ago bites a person today? If dogs belonging to your clients bite one another, Or if you adopt-out a dog and it bites its owner? Attorney Kenneth Phillips - the country's leading authority in dog bite law - says that you can, and that these are only three out of dozens of scenarios where canine professionals are vulnerable from a legal standpoint. However, he also knows how you can avoid liability, too. And that is the subject of this video.
The DVD is a 90-minute seminar that teaches trainers, rescue and adoption organizations, and shelters how to avoid liability for accidents. Phillips takes an approach that combines two things: safe practices and properly drafted contacts, waivers and company policies.
Don't worry: you don't have to sit down and watch this video with your lawyer, because it comes with a CD-ROM that contains all the legal documents that Phillips talks about! He drafted all of them, especially for this package. You can print them out as is, customize them in your word processor, or combine them with the documents you already are using.
For the price of this DVD / CD-ROM set, you would get about 15 minutes of a good attorneys time. Spend that money here, and you will have 90 minutes of a GREAT attorneys time plus a Training Agreement, Adoption Agreement, Waiver for Entry on Premises, Bailment Agreement for Surrender of Dog, and Policy and Procedures for Observing and Reporting Problems with Dogs.
What You Will Receive: This is a multimedia presentation that includes seven essential items for your protection:
Seminar on DVD. A one and one-half hour seminar on DVD, taped by Tawzer Dog Videos in which Attorney Kenneth Phillips covers the five most troublesome legal issues for canine pros: liability for dog bites and negligence; avoiding liability for dog bites on your premises; avoiding liability after adopting out a dog; the liability of a client to you if his dog bites you; and the special rules for animal control agencies and humane societies.
Seminar Outline on CD-ROM. This outline was the script for the presentation. You can print it out from your computer and refer to it when watching the DVD.
Legal Documents on CD-ROM. Five essential legal documents for your protection: Dog Training Agreement, Waiver and Release for Entry to Premises, Bailment Agreement for Surrender of Dog, Adoption Agreement, and Policy and Procedures for Observing and Reporting Problems with Dogs. Written by Attorney Phillips, they are formatted to be printed from your computer or revised in your word processor (i.e., .pdf and .rtf files).
Why You Need These Documents:
Trainers, shelters and adoption organizations can be held liable for serious dog attacks that happen when the dog is long gone. However, you can avoid liability with the right procedures and legal documents:
The Dog Training Agreement will help keep you from being liable for bites and other things that might happen after the dog completes your training. It also helps to avoid liability for accidents that can happen during training and around your premises. Furthermore, it makes the client liable to you and your employees if his dog injures any of you! These are just a few of the features of this thorough contract.
The Waiver and Release for Entry to Premises helps to shield you from liability for accidents that happen on your property. It protects you from claims by clients and their guests. It is simple to use and is very thorough.
The Bailment Agreement for Surrender of Dog is essential for shelters, rescues and adoption agencies in the 30 states that have strict liability dog bite statutes. Normally, your organization takes ownership of a dog, but that make you liable for bites, because liability goes along with ownership. However, with this bailment agreement, you can have custody and control of the dog without fearing liability under the state dog bite law.
The Policy and Procedures for Observing and Reporting Problems with Dogs will help avoid some of the most embarrassing and damaging lawsuits that now face shelters, rescues and adoption organizations. This document institutes a reasonable policy for gathering information about potentially dangerous dogs, and sharing that information with those who may adopt the dog. Following the policy will help protect you from liability for injuries inflicted by a dog that you adopt-out.
The Adoption Agreement limits your exposure to claims that you misrepresented anything about a dog. Unfortunately, even an innocent misrepresentation can make you legally responsible for bites and other problems; long after you adopt-out a dog. This agreement will help keep you lawsuit-free by providing appropriate disclosures, and making the new owner assume the risks presented by the dog.
DISCLAIMER:
You should not change a single word of any of the Avoiding Liability documents unless your attorney first tells you it would be acceptable legally, and then, after making the change, he or she reviews it and confirms that it is acceptable. These legal documents cover common issues, but your own business or agency may have peculiar ones. For that reason, you are strongly advised to ask your own attorney whether the documents should be supplemented or modified. They are without warranty, guarantee or promise of immunity. Neither they nor any other legal measure can eliminate the possibility of a lawsuit. No document will protect you if you adopt it but then fail to abide by it or you breach it.
Disc 1 - DVD
Disc 2 - CD Rom
