Inflicting Pain. if it went wrong

[bigAl]

Interesting replies guaranteed to this one!

My view: Where liability sits would very much depend on the contractual relationship between the parties involved (employer/employee/self-employed, etc.). An "employer" has a responsibility to provide a 'safe place of work' and "violenti non fit injuria" would only ever be a partial defence.

Bear in mind too that the definition of Employee is very a wide one.

http://www.emplaw.co.uk/lawguide?startp ... 026025.htm

As an example of violenti, if you fail to wear a seatbelt and willingly accept the risk, and then get injured in an car accident where the belt would have meant you walked away unscathed, the courts would typically reduce their award by no more than 20%.

[one eyed jack]

I'd think the website doing that would have some clause in their release that covered them.

Not sure there would be any kind of insurance to cover that one as a liability given being kicked in the nuts repeatedly is more than likely to cause some kind of harm but its to my understanding the models are briefed in a specific way to do it

[bigAl]

Yes a difficult subject. I wouldn't be too sure about alleviating legal liability by signing such contracts - The Unfair Contract Terms Act might have a say in this?

It's all very well talking in terms of consent and intention, but when someone gets hurt their attitude invariably changes. We live in a litigious society, fuelled by "ambulance chasers" and "claims farmers".

[bigAl]

Yes OEJ, even if the producer did happen to hold Liability insurance it would exclude 'deliberate acts'.

[Essex Lad]

There was a case not that long ago of a consensual homosexual S&M orgy and despite all participants freely giving consent some landed up in the dock and I'm sure a few in nick as well.

Technically, it is illegal for a person to engage in S&M activities that leave a lasting mark on someone else's body. But lawyers admit the definition of what constitutes a lasting mark is open to interpretation.

'If you drag your fingernails down someone's back and draw blood, you are breaking the law,' said John Lovatt, a solicitor who advises the Spanner Trust, a group set up to defend the rights of sadomasochists. 'If you leave a mark on someone, it's really anyone's guess.'

Yes, just fond this although it was longer ago than I though:
In December 1990 in the UK, 16 gay men were given prison sentences of up to four and a half years or fined for engaging in consensual SM activity. This followed a police investigation called Operation Spanner prompted by the chance finding of a videotape of SM activities.

The convictions have now been upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Law Lords in the UK and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Despite what you may have read in the newspapers, for the most part, the men were convicted of the standard offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Their defence, that they had all consented to the activities, was denied.

[videokim]

A mistress in the Midlands a couple of years ago was arrested when her sharp heel went through a guys chest killing him, if you inflict serious pain you will get done if it goes tits up.

When we have done ball busting we get the guy to wear a bollock protecter e.g. like you would in boxing, get them to wear a baggy pair of boxers to hide it & when he is kicked use the top of the foot in a slapping action rather than a kick.
The effect looks & sounds the same & everyone is safe lol!

Heart attacks happen to everyone so this an hazard you can't control, redo your model release to include your S&M activities so people appearing in your films consent to what they are doing.

Girls that get marked through S & M usually charge 3-4 times the normal rates because they can't work with bruises & marks, make it look good on camera & even use makeup but try not to mark the girl...red bums go after a short while but big welts don't.

By practicing with the girls/guys you can get the look & sound of great S & M without hurting anyone.