Agritourism Liability Law Pt 2

Agritourism Liability Law Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. Liability protection for farmers in the Agritourism business is in place thanks to a law passed by legislators this year. Senate Bill 5808 says Agritourism professionals have limited liability for unintentional injuries on their property.

But, Tom Davis with the Washington Farm Bureau says there is a catch ...

TOM DAVIS ... "What the law says is, it states in very specific language, that must go on a sign, on your farm, bolted on the entrance as people come in, and then at the location of each activity like at your corn-maze, your pumpkin patch, your educational site. And, as long as you have those signs up where people can see them and read them, then you are provided this additional coverage."

And, Davis says, the Farm Bureau placed a bulk order for those signs ...

TOM DAVIS ... "We decided to do that because one sign from a local printer here was a hundred bucks. If we did a bulk order, we could get the cost down to $30. So, you know, every farmer was going to be faced with that situation. So, we wanted to help provide folks and help them get these folks and help them get these signs out on their land as quickly as they can."

Davis says the law doesn't cover negligence ...

TOM DAVIS ... "Now, if you have a dangerous situation on your farm and somebody gets hurt on that, this would not protect you from that. If you created a hazard and didn't fix it, but if it's just somebody trips and falls then you definitely receive protection under this. And the simple thing is, you just have to have the sign and post it where people can see it."

If you don't have a sign yet for your business, go to the Washington State Farm Bureau website.

The law went into effect July 23rd.

Previous ReportAgritourism Liability Law Pt 1
Next ReportFOIA Request Points to Lobbying Pt 1