From The News Service of Florida
Florida parents could waive their children’s right to sue if their play time at an amusement park or a motor track results in injury or death under compromise legislation approved by a House committee Monday.
In an unusual partnership, trial lawyers and the business community forged an agreement, which would allow parents to waive the right to sue over injuries or death resulting from the “inherent risk” of activity at commercial amusement facilities. However, the waivers wouldn’t absolve businesses in cases where negligent actions caused the child to be put in danger.
“This is exactly where the bill needed to be or where I hoped it would end up,” said Rep. Adam Fetterman (D-Port St. Lucie), the ranking Democrat on the House Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Council, which approved the bill 10-3.
The legislation, sometimes called the Disney bill, has taken a number of twists and turns, putting the trial bar and business community at odds for most of the debate. The two groups are on opposing sides for a number of issues, and this one was no different, until last week, when they agreed over the Senate version of the bill, which set out the inherent risk standard.
Rep. Mike Horner (R-Kissimmee) and the sponsor of the bill, originally did not favor the Senate language, but agreed to it in the end so that the legislation would have a better chance to pass both chambers. He had sponsored the same measure last year with little success.
“I look forward to making more improvements to make this bill even better,” Horner said as he closed out his argument
In legal terms, inherent risk would mean any action naturally associated with the activity. So, if a child steers an all terrain vehicle the wrong way, the race track wouldn’t necessarily be at fault – there’s inherent risk in riding the ATV. But if there was a problem with the vehicle, such as a faulty steering mechanism, and the company knowingly rented it out, the company could be at fault and a parent would retain the right to sue.
The child waiver issue stems from a Florida Supreme Court case that said parents could not sign away their child’s right to sue. In 2003, 14-year-old Christopher Jones fell off his all terrain vehicle at Thunder Cross Motor Track Sports in Okeechobee County and was crushed as the vehicle rolled over him. His estate sued the owners of the sports track, who argued the waiver took away the right to sue. The court disagreed.