Suppose you drive all day up to the ski lodge and they want you to sign something before you can go skiing that says the ski resort is not liable if you get hurt? Suppose your 14 year old daughter gets a bad infection after getting her ear pierced by a dirty needle at the mall or your son gets badly hurt in an out-of-control football practice because the coach is fooling around somewhere and you signed something saying you wouldn't sue?
Are these things enforceable?
Courts have wrestled with these questions for years. On the one hand, adults are normally held responsible for what they have signed. When adequate warnings are given, people should be free to do "risky" activities as long as they know the possible consequences and agree to be responsible for them.
But on the other hand, many of these things are not written in plain English, they're "legal mumbo-jumbo." They're not printed in big, bold type but in fine print where you wouldn't normally read them. Worst of all, these things are not actually any kind of agreement or "contract" at all, you're just being told the rules. You have no power to negotiate.