Thread: Zombie walk liability issues

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Hello everyone,I am helping to organize a zombie walk for my employer.She is a very cautios woman and is worried about liability concerns (can't say I blame her) the town we live in is very uptight about this type of thing. I was once involved in a halloween fashion show at a local bar,I dressed as a zombie and on my walk home ( only 3 blocks) I was arrested for disorderly conduct ! We have contacted the police to let them know that this will be taking place they said they have no objections but the concern is that someone might see this as a chance to commit some kind of crime or just general troublemaking because they will all be in costume and possibly unrecognizable. This outcome is completely unacceptable because this event is in conjunction with a local college (helping to promote John Russo's movie making class,he is one of the creators of "Night of the Living Dead") Is there some kind of special insurance that is needed or just waivers that need to be signed ( if we use waivers someone could theoreticly not come to the event and not sign the waiver but still dress up and do something stupid) would we be responsible for any damages caused by any participants ? Maybe we are just being over cautios but if anyone has any thoughts ,info ,or past experience with this type of thing please weigh in with your oppinions.I know if any group can help me this is the one so please tell me what you think.

Originally Posted by wickedJESTERmcl

I was once involved in a halloween fashion show at a local bar,I dressed as a zombie and on my walk home ( only 3 blocks) I was arrested for disorderly conduct !

LOL! I'm sorry, but that's funny!

I take it you were in character and they thought you were drunk? I hope they let you off once everything was explained and cleared up!

I read somewhere-- I think in my "Haunted Halloween" magic book-- something about how you can get extra liability insurance for special events. I know I've asked my insurance agent-- he told me it's not necessary to get anything other than renter's or home-owners insurance unless you have a temporary structure people will be entering.

You might give your insurance agent a call just to check on it... different states/countries handle things differently.

This last Transworld, held in Vegas, wearing a mask in Vegas is a "No-No", you might be making off with a Brinks truck or something?
I read once that some town in Alabama it was against the law to wear a halloween mask, I guess they had some very nervous people in that town?

Is the Zombie Walk taking place in a specific area at a specific time? You may want to see if you need a permit of some sort - that is a least alerting the town/officials of your event and the when and where.
You can't control what anyone does outside those parameters and I doubt you or the organizers would be held responsible if someone should go rob a bank with a zombie costume on. I don't think any sort of insurance would cover you in that type of situation. But I would check to see if you need a permit. Just because the police have said okay won't cover you if you still need a permit.