^^^I was going to say that generally speaking, liability waivers are not worth the paper they are printed on in Washington state, except for some narrow circumstances. I note that Oceangate is right here in Snohomish County, which means they are subject to the jurisdiction of either the Snohomish County Superior Court, or the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington down in Seattle. So I would not pin my hopes on a waiver in either of those two courts. To the extent they are enforceable, the typical waiver would apply in terms of the award of damages, but does not prevent a suit from being filed. So you still have the costs of defending a suit. If liability waivers worked up here, I would have every single patient sign one as a condition of medical treatment, but I don't.
However, I see from the UK newspaper article that Oceangate has a corporate presence in the Bahamas, and the waiver expressly provides that any disputes or court cases related to the waiver will be held in the Bahamas. So I will be interested to learn how this plays out.
One way or the other, I predict a lot of legal fees in the future for Oceangate, and once they run through their corporate insurance, bankruptcy should soon follow.
