In Kirton, the Florida Supreme Court found that a pre-injury release executed by the parent of a 14 year-old boy who died in an ATV accident could not be used to protect the operator of a motor sports park from liability in a wrongful death suit filed by the boy’s mother. The court reached this conclusion even though the boy’s father stated that he fully understood the risks involved with the activity and knew what he was signing. In fact, the young rider himself had previously been involved in a serious accident at the same facility riding the same type of ATV. In spite of those factors, the court held that public policy considerations prohibited a parent from binding a minor child to a release of liability for negligence.
