Trampoline Park and Indoor Playground Injuries in Florida: What the Waiver Really Covers

Trampoline parks, ninja courses, foam pits, and indoor playgrounds have opened in shopping centers and warehouses across South Florida, and a growing share of children's injuries now happen there: broken arms and legs, dislocated joints, concussions from attempted flips, and spinal injuries from landing wrong in a pit. Parents arrive at the emergency room with two things in mind. The first is their child. The second, hours later, is the waiver they tapped through on a tablet at the front desk, and the assumption that it ended any claim before it began.

That assumption is usually wrong, because of a Florida statute most parents have never heard of and most parks would rather they not read. What follows explains what the waiver covers and what it cannot, who answers for a child's injury, and how a child's case differs from an adult's.

What did the waiver you signed actually cover? 

Less than it says. Florida's Supreme Court held years ago that a parent cannot sign away a child's right to sue a commercial business for its own negligence. The Legislature responded with a statute, section 744.301(3), that lets a parent release only the inherent risks of a commercial activity: the dangers that are part of the activity itself, the risk that the provider failed to warn about those inherent dangers, and the risk that another participant acts carelessly. The provider's own negligence is not on the list, and a release that purports to cover it is unenforceable to that extent. The statute also requires specific warning language, set in larger capital letters, and a form that omits it fails even for inherent risks. When the form is valid, it creates a presumption that the injury came from an inherent risk, which the family must overcome with clear and convincing evidence. That is a real hurdle, and it is where the case is decided.

What is an inherent risk, and what is negligence? 

Two children collide mid-jump and one breaks a wrist: that is an inherent risk of a trampoline court. A child's foot goes through a gap where a torn safety pad exposed the springs: that is negligence. The distinction runs through every case: inherent risks exist when the facility does everything right; negligence is what the facility did wrong: overcrowded courts where large jumpers bounce beside small ones, attendants absent or distracted, one-jumper rules posted but never enforced, foam pits shallow or compacted, equipment worn past the manufacturer's replacement schedule, padding missing on frames and walls. Industry standards for trampoline courts set out inspection, padding, and supervision expectations, and a park's own manuals often say more than the standards do. A defective component adds a product liability claim against the manufacturer alongside the negligence claim against the operator.

Who can be held responsible?

The operator that ran the facility is the primary defendant, and behind it sit others: the property owner where the lease put safety obligations on the landlord, the franchisor that supplied the design and operating rules, the equipment maker, and the staffing or party-hosting contractors on site. Each carries its own insurance, and identifying the layers early shapes the claim. Public facilities such as school gyms follow different rules under Florida's sovereign immunity statutes, which cap recoveries and add procedural steps; the waiver statute above concerns commercial providers.

How is a child's claim different from an adult's?

An injury to a child produces two claims. The child's claim covers pain, disfigurement, future medical needs, and the effect on the child's life, and it belongs to the child. The parents' claim covers the medical bills they paid and will pay, and it belongs to them. A waiver may bind the parents' own claim while leaving the child's intact. Young children are not held to adult standards of care, so the argument that a child caused the injury by ignoring rules carries far less weight. Deadlines are a trap: Florida does not automatically pause the limitations clock for a minor when a parent is available to act, and the negligence period is now two years, so waiting for the child to grow up is not a strategy. 

What happens when a child's case settles? 

Florida courts supervise settlements of children's claims. Small settlements can be handled by the parents. Above a statutory threshold the court must approve the settlement, and above a higher one the court appoints a guardian ad litem to review the terms independently. The money belongs to the child and is placed in a court-supervised guardianship or a restricted account until the child turns eighteen, with structured settlements available for larger recoveries. The court reviews the attorney's fee as well. The process adds steps, and it exists so the settlement serves the child rather than the adults negotiating it.

What about inflatables, party rooms, and soft play?

The same principles reach the rest of the industry. Inflatable attractions that are under-anchored, overinflated, or overcrowded; soft-play structures with pinch points and drops; climbing walls with auto-belay systems that were not clipped; birthday party rooms where supervision was left to the guests: each is judged by whether the operator used reasonable care for the children it invited in. Age and size separation, staff ratios, and rule enforcement are the recurring questions, and the answers are usually on the facility's own cameras.

What should parents do after an injury?

Get medical care and follow the treatment plan, because gaps in care become arguments later. Ask for a copy of the incident report and of the waiver you signed. Photograph the equipment, the padding, the pit, and the signage before repairs, and note how many attendants were present and where. Get names of other parents who saw what happened. Preserve the booking confirmation and any party contract. Decline to give a recorded statement to the facility's insurer until you have advice. Video from the facility's cameras is the most decisive evidence in these cases and is overwritten on a short cycle, so a preservation letter should go out quickly.

Salomon Smith PLLC represents families across South Florida whose children were injured at trampoline parks, play centers, and other commercial recreation facilities. If your child was hurt and a waiver is being used to turn you away, call (305) 297-1018 for a free consultation, or learn more about our personal injury practice.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice.