Kentucky Supreme Court lowers the boom on the House of Boom trampoline park over hurt girl

In a ruling that could have a big impact on paintball, laser tag, go-kart and other youth recreation businesses, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a damage waiver signed by a parent doesn't protect companies from liability if children get hurt.

In a unanimous decision, the court said Thursday that the public's interest in protecting children renders liability waivers at for-profit operations unenforceable.

The court ruled against House of Boom, a Louisville trampoline park, and for a mother whose 11-year daughter broke her ankle when another girl landed on her after jumping from a ledge onto a trampoline.

Kathy Miller had signed the waiver, which warned of the risk of serious injury, paralysis or death, when she bought tickets for her daughter, identified as E.M., and her friend for an August 2015 birthday party.

Miller said the company failed to adequately supervise customers or follow its safety policies, but House of Boom moved to dismiss her suit, citing the waiver.

In its first decision on the issue, the Supreme Court said Kentucky law gives parents "no right to compromise their child’s cause of action as that right … is the child's alone."

Previously:Man wins nearly $500K from House of Boom in safety lawsuit

A spokeswoman for House of Boom's parent company, CircusTrix, which operates 320 activity parks worldwide, said it would have no comment.

For-profit trampoline parks have exploded into a billion-dollar industry, according to a brief filed in the case by the Kentucky Justice Association, a trial lawyer group.

It says that emergency room visits have skyrocketed as well, from 2,500 in 2013 to nearly 18,000 in 2017, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

At least six people have died, a number the lawyer group said could be higher because many plaintiffs are forced to sign confidentiality clauses.

In April, a Jefferson Circuit Court jury awarded $495,000 in damages to Andrew Followell, who broke his back at House of Boom, 100 Urton Lane, when he bounced in the air, hit two punching bags suspended from the ceiling, and fell between two trampolines onto padded metal.

He said the park didn’t comply with industry safety standards when he was injured in 2016.

Represented by attorney Grover Cox,Miller sued in federal court, which asked the Supreme Court to decide whether waivers signed by parents are enforceable in Kentucky.

House of Boom argued that parents have a fundamental liberty interest in the "care and custody of their children." And its lawyers said that waivers "encourage affordable recreational activities."

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But the Supreme Court noted that 11 of 12 states that have addressed the issue have found that waivers for for-profit companies are unenforceable.

Writing for the court, Justice Laurence VanMeter said waivers remove a business's incentive to take "reasonable precautions to protect the safety of minor children." And the court said businesses can buy insurance and spread the costs among its customers.

The Kentucky Justice Association — and the court — noted that minors are not allowed to sign contracts or permitted to settle a case without a court-appointed guardian and the consent of a court.

"Pretrial waivers offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis should not allow House of Boom to escape the requirement that it is the public policy of the commonwealth to protect and care for children," the lawyer group said in its brief.

The court said its decision doesn't apply to nonprofit organizations.

House of Boom warns on its website that trampoline use involves an inherent risk of fatal or serious injuries, including fractures, and that patrons "participate at your own risk."

Rules prohibit double flips and "double bouncing," that is, "attempting to propel someone higher by timing a jump as another lands on the trampoline."

Like House of Boom, Paintball Asylum, 3101 Pond Station Road, which has 40 acres of wooded grounds, offers a waiver online for customers and their parents.

Manager Joshua Florence said the court’s decision "doesn’t make sense to me."

"We are very safety conscious," he said.

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The International Association of Trampoline Parks, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, says patron safety is one of its top priorities, though it acknowledges "there are parks that do not adhere to industry technical standards and do not operate with safety at the forefront of their agendas."

Still, it said, customers spent an estimated 80 million hours jumping last year and that injury rates at parks are lower or on par than common youth sports such as soccer, basketball and volleyball, and far lower than contact sports such as lacrosse and football.

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.  Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/andreww.