Hold Harmless Agreement

The Waiver of Liability is the forfeiture of liability claims from one party to the other. In contrast, the Hold Harmless Agreement has the sole purpose of protecting one party against potential liabilities. It involves two or more parties in the agreement, as opposed to one person signing a waiver.

The witness can be any person above 18 years of age. However, the standard practice is to use a witness who does not hold any stake in the agreement. The witness does not have to know anything about the terms of the agreement but rather just bear witness to the signatures.

First, the Hold Harmless Agreement has to be drafted in accordance with state and county laws. A Hold Harmless Agreement is considered valid if entered into willingly and free of duress or coercion. The only exception is if the indemnitee was negligent to a fault, as a Hold Harmless Agreement could still be declared invalid.

Hold Harmless Agreements are applicable in one’s personal life too, besides the more common business or transactional application. Before you allow someone to stay at your home, for example, you can use such an agreement to protect yourself against liabilities, such as if your guest or your guest’s guest is to sustain an injury in your home.

The best practice is to negotiate terms that are agreeable to all parties involved. If the agreement is too broad or refined, that could mean that the language of the contract favors one party at the expense of the other.