You Signed a Waiver Before You Got Hurt in Virginia. Can You Still Sue?
Almost every gym membership, riding lesson, trampoline park ticket, and youth sports sign-up in Virginia comes with the same fine print: a liability waiver. You sign it without reading it, hand it back, and never think about it again — until you're hurt and a claims adjuster waves that piece of paper in your face and says, "You signed away your right to sue."
Here is what many injured Virginians don't know: in Virginia, that waiver is often worth far less than the business hopes. A new decision from the Court of Appeals of Virginia — Julianne Post v. The Pines Horse Farm and Sanctuary, LLC (decided May 19, 2026) — is a fresh reminder that a signed release is not the end of an injury case. It is frequently just the beginning of the argument.
What happened in the Pines Horse Farm case
Julianne Post signed up for horseback riding lessons at Pines Horse Farm. Before her lesson, she signed a release form acknowledging that riders can fall and that "if a rider falls from a horse to ground it will generally be at a distance of from 3 to 6 feet and the impact may result in injury to the rider."
During her lesson, Post says the tack — the equipment used to ride the horse — was defective. According to her complaint, when the horse moved a certain way, the faulty tack snapped, she lost her balance, and she fell and was injured. She sued, alleging the farm negligently failed to maintain the tack, failed to warn her of its defective condition, and failed to properly supervise her.
The trial court threw her case out on summary judgment, reasoning that she had signed a release and assumed the risk of falling. The Court of Appeals reversed and sent the case back for trial.
The key ruling: you only give up the risks you actually agreed to
Virginia has a specific statute governing horse-related activities. Code § 3.2-6202 says that an "equine activity sponsor" generally is not liable for injuries resulting from the intrinsic dangers of horseback riding — and that a properly written waiver can bar certain claims. But a companion statute, Code § 3.2-6203, preserves liability where the business "commits an act or omission that constitutes negligence" that caused the injury — unless the injured person "expressly assumed the risk causing the injury."
The farm's argument was simple: Post signed a form acknowledging she could fall and get hurt, so she assumed "the risk of falling and suffering injury for whatever cause."
The court rejected that reading as leading to "an absurd result." In its words, a general acknowledgment that a rider might fall is not the same as expressly assuming the specific risk that caused this injury — being handed faulty equipment. As the court explained, "the particular conduct causing Post's injury—receiving faulty tack—was not mentioned expressly in the Release Form." A broad "you might fall off a horse" clause does not "absolve Pines Horse Farm from all negligent acts and omissions that could lead to participants falling from their horse."
Translation: a waiver only covers the specific risks it clearly spells out. A business cannot bury a vague catch-all in a form and expect it to erase liability for its own carelessness.
Virginia's bigger secret: most injury waivers are void from the start
The Pines Horse Farm case involved a special statutory scheme for horse activities. But for injuries in general, Virginia's rule is even more protective of the injured person — and it surprises people who assume waivers are ironclad.
For more than a century, Virginia has held that a pre-injury release of liability for future negligence causing personal injury is void as against public policy. The leading modern case is Hiett v. Lake Barcroft Community Ass'n, 244 Va. 191 (1992), where a triathlon participant was rendered a quadriplegic and had signed an entry form releasing the organizers from liability. The Supreme Court of Virginia held the release void, tracing the rule all the way back to an 1890 decision and explaining that such provisions for release from liability for personal injury caused by future negligence are prohibited "universally."
In other words, in Virginia a business generally cannot get you to sign away, in advance, your right to sue for a personal injury its own negligence later causes. That puts Virginia in a small minority of states, and it is very good news for injured people. (Waivers can still validly cover things like property damage, and specialized statutes — like the equine statute above — set their own narrower rules. But the core protection for your body is strong.)
How Virginia compares to Maryland and D.C.
Because Posey Lebowitz represents injured people across Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, it's worth knowing that the same waiver can be treated very differently depending on where you were hurt.
| Jurisdiction | Are pre-injury waivers of negligence for personal injury enforceable? | Bottom line for injured people |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Generally no — void as against public policy (Hiett v. Lake Barcroft, 244 Va. 191 (1992)). Special statutes (e.g., equine activities) allow narrow waivers that are read strictly. | Most protective. A signed waiver often does not bar a negligence claim at all. |
| Maryland | Sometimes — clearly written recreational waivers are often enforced, but never for gross negligence or reckless conduct, and not where public policy forbids it. | Enforceability turns on how clear the waiver is and the type of activity. |
| District of Columbia | Sometimes — a clear, unambiguous waiver may be enforced, but courts construe it strictly against the business and will not apply it to gross negligence. | Vague or overbroad waivers frequently fail; the exact wording matters. |
The takeaway: where you were injured matters enormously, and Virginia's law leans strongly in the injured person's favor. Never assume a signature ended your case.
What this means if you were hurt after signing a waiver in Virginia
- A signed waiver is not an automatic loss. In Virginia, a pre-injury release of liability for personal injury caused by negligence is often void entirely — and even under special statutes like the one for horse activities, courts read waivers narrowly.
- The details of how you were hurt matter. If your injury was caused by a specific act of carelessness — broken or poorly maintained equipment, inadequate supervision, a hidden hazard — that the waiver never squarely addressed, the waiver may not protect the business at all.
- Gross negligence and reckless conduct are almost never waivable anywhere in the region.
- Don't rely on the other side's interpretation. The business and its insurer have every incentive to tell you the waiver ends everything. As the Pines Horse Farm case shows, a court may see it very differently.
This is general information, not legal advice about your specific case. If you or a family member was injured in Virginia, Maryland, or D.C. — even after signing a waiver or release — talk to a lawyer before you accept that you have no claim.
Call Posey Lebowitz PLLC at (202) 524-0123 or use our contact form for a free consultation. We'll review the waiver you signed, the facts of your injury, and tell you honestly whether you have a case.
Sources: Julianne Post v. The Pines Horse Farm and Sanctuary, LLC, Record No. 0445-25-1 (Va. Ct. App. May 19, 2026) (official PDF); Hiett v. Lake Barcroft Community Ass'n, 244 Va. 191 (1992).
