Missouri Laws 537.859 – Immunity from liability, when — affirmative defense
1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, a registered agritourism operator is not liable for injury to or death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of agritourism activities so long as the warning contained in section 537.856 is posted as required and, except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, no participant or participant’s representative shall maintain an action against or recover from a registered agritourism operator for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting exclusively from any of the inherent risks of agritourism activities.
2. Nothing in sections 537.850 to 537.859 shall prevent or limit the liability of a registered agritourism operator if the registered agritourism operator:
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 537.859
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(1) Injures the participant by willful or wanton conduct;
(2) Has actual knowledge or should have known of a dangerous condition in the facilities or equipment used in the registered agritourism activity and does not make such dangerous condition known to a participant and such dangerous condition causes the participant to sustain injuries; or
(3) Fails to use that degree of care that an ordinarily careful and prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances.
3. In any action for damages for personal injury, death, or property damage arising from the operation of a registered tourism activity in which an owner or operator is named as a defendant, it shall be an affirmative defense to that liability that:
(1) The injured person assumed the risk;
(2) The injured person deliberately disregarded conspicuously posted signs, verbal instructions, or other warnings regarding safety measures during the activity; or
(3) Any equipment, animals, or appliance used by the injured person during the activity was* used in a manner or for a purpose other than that for which a reasonable person should have known they were intended.