The Question of Disclaimers

“A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship.  In contrast to other terms for legally operative language, the term disclaimer usually implies situations that involve some level of uncertainty, waiver, or risk.”  -- Wikipedia.com

Wikipedia goes on to address what I consider a concern with any online chat area where comment may be misconstrued as advice:

“[A disclaimer] may specify warnings or expectations to the general public (or some other class of persons) in order to fulfill a duty of care owed to prevent unreasonable risk of harm or injury.”

For anybody creating, contributing, or partaking in any form of conversation where comment can be misconstrued as educated, licensed advice, I think it is prudent to understand that the conversation taking place is only conversation and opinion.  Nothing offered should in any way be considered medical advice counseling.

We would all like to think that those around us are mature adults able to use God given “common sense.”  When was the last time you saw anyone exercising good sense that was in any way common?  It just doesn’t exist anymore.  The best we can hope for is painfully rare “uncommon” sense, and that opens the door for too much misunderstanding, which is the ultimate cause of litigation.  Lawyers live to sue on behalf of the mentally incompetent.  Remember the hot coffee in the crotch?  The traffic police too stupid to turn off the radar gun before putting it between their legs while they wrote notes?  All considered by me to be poster children for population control.  The good die young and the stupid cling to life like a cancer, but that’s just an opinion.

 

Sometimes even the most intelligent of individuals, especially in stressful situations, need to be reminded of reality.  There was a German Shepard with attitude that lived down the street form us when my son was young.  The dog was confined behind a white picket fence.  My son was not stupid, but I still warned him that if he stuck his hand through that fence the fault of his hand being mangled would be his, not the dog’s.  A person needs to take responsibility for their own actions.  They need to be held accountable.  In the case of online conversation groups the reality is that, in all probability, no one is a trained medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or counselor.  People online at the site should be reminded that anything offered is just opinion.  They also need to be reminded that everyone can see what they’re writing.  There should be no expectation of confidentiality. It is the internet!

Truth be known, I don’t think what I’m discussing makes it passed the first court hearing before it is thrown out.  But, who has the money to go even that far in their own defense?  I think a disclaimer shows the courts that you recognize there might be an issue, and were forward thinking enough to remind everyone in order to fulfill an expected “duty of care owed to prevent unreasonable risk of harm or injury.”

I found two examples, which I melded into one, that I think clarify what I'm trying to say:

"No assumption of responsibility is made, or given, and the party requesting such advice agrees not to hold the pastor liable in any form or fashion, for such actions taken of their own accord.  The method and process by which this advice and direction are given in no way would constitute an agreement or liability on the part of the provider and is acknowledged to be different in many ways than a one-on-one clinical or psychological counseling process.  Any actions or lack of actions taken by the recipient of such advice is done so solely by choice and responsibility of the recipient and is neither the responsibility nor liability of the pastor."

My disclaimer is that, I am not an attorney.  This is just opinion based on uncommon sense and should not be construed as rule of law.  As far as Wikipedia is concerned, I'm not sure how well they police what is placed on their site.  Besides, you can't believe everything you read on the internet.  "Bonjour!"  Do your own due diligence, and good luck!