FWIW, liability waivers might offer some protection against ordinary negligence in some/many places. However, gross negligence, recklessness and intentional acts trump any waiver in just about any US jurisdiction.
The issue then becomes the level of negligence or whether something was reckless, and intentional is self explanatory.
Certainly. In the case of collateral damage reasonably anticipated as an unavoidable part of the job, such as ruts in a yard from running equipment on it (which was the issue my response was directed to) or relying on the property owner’s representation that there isn’t a septic tank 2” under the grass in the work area, liability waivers are an appropriate tool.
A liability waiver obviously doesn’t give the right for a driveway grading contractor to intentionally ram through nearby building walls and willy nilly wreak destruction with total immunity. A waiver also doesn’t protect the contractor from a breach of contract action for failing to complete the job properly. Liability waivers, at least the type commonly used by contractors, normally address a potential issue both parties are aware of beforehand such as yard damage from felling a large tree.
A typical waiver here would specify that the property owner understands the job requires running heavy equipment on a paved driveway, yard, etc., the property owner understands the risks involved in doing so, and waives any liability for damage to the driveway, yard, or whatever else is specified.
If I somehow implied any and all liability for anything period could be waived by a land owner/customer signing a blanket waiver of some sort, my apologies. That was not my intent at all.
Several on this thread have pointed out a variety of real risks to a business such as that contemplated by the OP. Some also have suggested those risks are of such magnitude that using a tractor for any business use is too risky to be reasonable and strategies to mitigate those risks are either cost prohibitive or non-existent.
My point was, and remains, there are insurance products and legal tools available to mitigate the risks to the contractor. While the general principles of appropriate risk mitigation (appropriate being defined by the risk tolerance of the contractor) are similar across the US and Canada, the details of exactly what is available, how much it costs, what specific forms to use for contracts, waivers, etc. are all specific to the area where the work is being performed so someone contemplating a business of this sort REALLY needs to consult with experts (insurance agent, attorney, accountant)
in their locale. Without consulting those local experts, how much risk mitigation is needed, how much is available, and how much it costs are all unknowns.
Ignoring real risks is not advisable, but abandoning the idea of starting a small business based on an assumption that it’s far too risky and there’s no way around that other than prohibitively priced insurance and/or no viable defenses to frivolous lawsuits prior to researching the actual costs and available legal tools is, IMO, also not advisable.
