“Volenti non fit injuria” is a defense used in civil cases where the injured party knowingly engaged in dangerous activity and cannot recover damages. Two components must be present: the injured party must know the risks and consent freely. However, it does not excuse people from all potential suits, and negligence can still be sued for.
Volenti non fit injuria is a Latin phrase that can be translated “for a willing person, there is no harm”. It is used as a defense in civil cases. Someone attempting to sue because he knowingly engaged in dangerous activity and was injured may not be able to recover damages, with the argument being that the person knew the risks and consented. However, willing non fit injuria is not a general defense that excuses people of all potential suits.
In a simple example of this type of defense, an American football player takes the field with the knowledge that he may be involved in tackles and other sporting maneuvers that could result in personal injury or even death, due to the nature of the game. Consequently, if someone is tackled and suffers a head injury, that person cannot sue, because the player participated voluntarily, being aware of the risks. On the other hand, if a player hits another player on the head with a stick, the injured player has reason to sue because getting hit on the head with a stick is not a known and accepted risk of playing American football.
Generally two components must be present for the voluntary non fit injuria defense to be accepted. The first is that the injured party knew the risks and was aware of the risks in detail; simply knowing, for example, that skydiving is dangerous would not be enough. The person should be aware of the specific risks associated with skydiving, such as the possibility of hitting the head during the descent and suffering a head injury.
Secondly, people must consent freely. Just knowing the risks is not generally considered consent. The injured party must offer oral or written consent. In some regions, people have to sign waivers indicating they understand the risks and agree anyway. For example, before undergoing surgery, patients are typically required to sign a consent reform stating that they have been informed in detail about the surgery and the risks.
Situations where people could be endangered are often accompanied by waivers to both meet the terms of wanting unsuitable injury and reduce liability. However, it is still possible to sue for negligence, even in cases where a waiver is filed. Some examples could include risks that people were not made aware of, injuries caused by improperly maintained equipment, and injuries caused by a surgeon under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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