The injury at an inflatable play facility and how the case climbed
On a weekend in 2005, a father brought his five-year-old son to an indoor inflatable play center in Michigan for a birthday party. Like most such venues, the operator required every parent to sign a release of liability upon entry. The form aimed to protect the business from lawsuits in case a child was hurt while playing.
During the party, the boy fell from one of the large inflatable structures and suffered a fractured leg. His parents did not sue immediately. Instead, several years later, while the son was still a minor, his father filed suit against the facility. The claim alleged that the business failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent injury.
The venue pointed to the signed release. They argued that the waiver, signed by the father, should bar the lawsuit. The case moved through Michigan's trial court and then to the state's appellate court, each stage focusing on whether a parent's signature could waive the rights of a minor child. After conflicting decisions, the Michigan Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter, setting up a case that would become a reference point for family entertainment and recreation venues across the country.
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The common law rule: a minor's claim belongs to the minor
At common law, a legal principle extends through most US states: the right to recover for personal injury belongs to the person injured. For minors, this means the claim is theirs, not their parent's. Parents may act as representatives in court, but the underlying right remains with the child.
This rule traces back centuries. Courts have long held that children lack the legal capacity to contract. They are shielded by the law, which often treats contracts signed on their behalf with skepticism. The rule applies not only to waivers but also to broader agreements affecting a minor's property or personal rights.
In practice, parents sign releases for activities ranging from summer camps to amusement parks. Despite this, the enforceability of such releases, when a child is hurt and brings a claim, depends on state law and how courts interpret the parent's authority. The default, absent special legislation, is that a parent cannot unilaterally waive a minor's future right to sue for personal injury.
Why the signed release did not bar the lawsuit
When the Michigan Supreme Court reviewed the inflatable facility case, the central question was not whether the father had understood the form, or whether the business had explained the risks. The court focused on whether current law allowed a parent to sign away a child's future legal claims.
The court's majority found that under Michigan's common law, parents had no power to bind their children to a prospective release of liability for injury. The reasoning was twofold. First, a child's personal injury claim is fundamentally their own. Second, the law treats contracts involving minors as voidable or unenforceable, especially when they act as a shield against claims for harm.
As a result, the father's signature on the waiver did not prevent his son from bringing the lawsuit. The venue's liability exposure remained, despite its best efforts to follow industry practice. The ruling left many operators in Michigan, and in other states with similar common law rules, uncertain about the effectiveness of their current waiver process for minors.
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Michigan's legislative answer, MCL 700.5109, and its conditions
The Woodman v. Kera decision prompted a swift legislative response. Within months, Michigan lawmakers passed a statute designed to address the gap. The law, now known as MCL 700.5109, explicitly allows a parent or guardian to sign a waiver on behalf of a minor for participation in certain recreational activities.
The statute is not a blanket permission. It has clear boundaries. The waiver must relate to risks inherent in the activity, those dangers that cannot be eliminated by the operator's reasonable care. The law does not protect a business from gross negligence or willful misconduct. If a venue's staff ignores obvious hazards or violates safety codes, the statute offers no shield.
Under MCL 700.5109, the waiver must be signed by a parent or a legally recognized guardian. The signature must be obtained before the minor participates, and the document should clearly describe the nature of the risks involved. Facilities are advised to keep copies of signed waivers and to confirm that the adult signing is authorized to do so.
This legislative fix established a workable framework for Michigan operators. It clarified both who can sign a waiver and for what types of claims the waiver provides protection. However, it did not erase the need for careful recordkeeping or due diligence at the point of check-in.
Colorado, Alaska and Florida: statutes written after similar rulings
Michigan is not alone in facing the limitations of common law when it comes to parental waivers. Several other states have seen high-profile court rulings that restricted or invalidated releases signed for minors, followed by legislative efforts to change the rules.
Colorado
Colorado's legislature responded to a state supreme court ruling by allowing parents and guardians to release certain claims for injuries to minors in connection with recreational activities. The law permits waivers for "inherent risks" but, like Michigan's statute, excludes gross negligence or intentional harm by the operator. The statute spells out what types of activities qualify and requires clear documentation.
Alaska
In Alaska, courts held that parents could not waive a child's personal injury claim. The state legislature then enacted a law specifying that a parent or legal guardian may execute a waiver for a minor's participation in sports or recreational activities. The waiver shields the operator from liability for ordinary negligence, again with exceptions for more serious misconduct.
Florida
Florida's lawmakers passed a statute after several cases invalidated parental waivers. The law establishes that a parent or natural guardian can waive, in writing, a minor's right to sue for injuries resulting from the inherent risks of certain activities. The statute requires that the waiver use specific language and that the document be signed by the parent or guardian before the activity begins.
These states illustrate a pattern: where courts restrict waivers, legislatures often step in to grant operators some legal security. Each statute has its own definitions, signature requirements, and limits on what can be released. For operators with venues in more than one state, these differences can drive major changes in waiver collection and recordkeeping procedures.
See how BookAndWaive handles this for attractions and entertainment
Who counts as a guardian when a grandparent brings the party
Many family entertainment venues see grandparents, aunts, uncles, or even family friends bringing children to parties or open play. The law in all states draws a distinction between a parent and a legal guardian. Only those with recognized legal authority can sign a binding waiver for a minor under statutes like Michigan's or Florida's.
A biological or adoptive parent almost always has this authority, unless court orders say otherwise. A legal guardian is an adult who has been granted guardianship by a court. This does not automatically include step-parents, older siblings, or other family members. Even grandparents, unless their guardianship is documented through a court, typically do not have the power to waive a minor's injury claim.
Operators are often put in a tough spot when an adult who is not a parent arrives with children. Some venues require advance documentation if anyone other than a parent will bring a child. Others maintain a "no parent, no play" policy. Still, many find it difficult to turn away a birthday party hosted by a grandparent. The risk, however, is that a waiver signed by someone without legal authority may not stand up in court if an injury occurs.
Electronic waiver systems can help by prompting signers to specify their relationship to the child and by capturing digital signatures for each minor. Even so, staff training remains important. Employees should know the difference between a parent and a guardian and understand when to ask for additional documentation.
Re-signing at eighteen, and the tolling clock behind that habit
One procedural complication for attractions is the legal rule known as tolling. In most states, the statute of limitations, the window for filing a lawsuit, does not begin for a minor until they reach eighteen. After the child's eighteenth birthday, the clock starts, with the time frame varying by state, often two or three years for personal injury claims.
This means that if a child is injured at age six, and a parent signed a waiver that is later found to be unenforceable, the individual may still sue the operator years later, up to age twenty or twenty-one. Operators may believe they are protected by a waiver, only to face a delayed claim when the participant becomes an adult.
To address this, some attractions have adopted the practice of requesting a new waiver once a participant turns eighteen. The adult can then sign on their own behalf, potentially cutting off claims for injuries that occur from that point forward. However, this does not retroactively protect the venue from injuries that happened before the participant's eighteenth birthday, unless state law provides otherwise.
Operators should understand their state's tolling rules and build waiver renewal into their procedures for regular guests. For facilities with memberships or frequent users, automated reminders to re-sign on a participant's eighteenth birthday can help maintain a current waiver on file.
Combined digital booking and waiver systems, especially those with per-participant signature tracking and check-in scanning, can make it easier to enforce these policies, reduce confusion about who has signed, and help ensure compliance with evolving legal standards for minor waivers.
