Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Andrew Prine, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
The Michigan Supreme Court handed down a decision that may have an effect on businesses and schools within the state that offer recreational activities for minors. The Supreme Court of Michigan ruled that a parent’s signature on an injury waiver does not waive the legal rights of a child who is hurt at play. Essentially, a parental signature on behalf of a child binds the child to the contract. The Michigan Supreme Court said that parents do not have the authority to do such. The court’s decision reasoned that Michigan’s common law prevented a parent from entering into a contract restricting the rights of a child.
In Tremont City, Ohio, a 6-year-old girl fell off the trampoline located at her home. The child was being watched by her grandmother through the back door of their home. After the accident, which the grandmother witnessed, the child walked into the home then vomited and lost balance. She was flown to a nearby hospital where she was diagnosed with a mild concussion. The grandmother stated the trampoline was usually secured by a safety net, however, it happened to be unattached on the day the accident occurred. Although the family has had the trampoline for four years, the family took the trampoline down after the accident.
When addressing playground safety issues, I thought it would be interesting to post an article from a child’s point of view. My 11 year old daughter provided me with the following article on Playground Safety:
Playgrounds are a great place for children to play in a defined area with other children. Many playgrounds are safe and built to standards. With good supervision, these playgrounds are great for children. Other playgrounds, however, are not well maintained or built and contain a number of hidden dangers to children. Before a child is allowed to play on a playground, a parent, caregiver, day care provider, or teacher should inspect the equipment to make sure that it is safe and age appropriate for the children. If everything checks out, supervision is key to the safety of children. Children often times lack good safety awareness and judgment. As such, supervision is the best way to keep children safe on playgrounds. You can read other safety tips from a pediatrician who believes that many playground accidents and injuries are preventable at 
A seven year old girl and her mother were leaving the soccer fields at Bear Creek Park, Texas, late one recent evening. As they made their way back to their car, the child ran into the road and was struck by a passing SUV. According to the girl’s mother, the automobile appeared to be a silver Isuzu Trooper or Mitsubishi Montero.
Governor Ritter of Colorado was recently in a bicycle accident that caused several broken ribs. After his own experience with a bicycle injury, he is throwing extra support behind a bill that would require Colorado kids from ages two to seventeen to wear a safety helmet when riding a bike, roller blades, or skate board.
Unfortunately, arguments and hot tempers have become commonplace at child sporting events. A survey by SportingKid magazine found that 76% of respondents had witnessed a verbal argument at a game, and a whopping 29% had witnessed a physical altercation – all between adults.
A five year old boy from West Wales, United Kingdom, fell off a child’s motorcycle that he had been given as a Christmas present. He suffered serious head injuries from the fall and died after being taken to the local hospital. The child was reportedly playing with the gift in an enclosed playground when the motorcycle accident took place. His father had taken him to the park to practice, since it was closed to automobile traffic over the holiday. Unfortunately, because the enclosed area is usually used for driving practice, it has a concrete surface. According to a neighbor, the park was locked up, but the short fence would be easy for someone to hoist a bike over. Police are calling this a tragic accident. They would not say if the child was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
A woman and her daughter were riding horses with a larger group along the Big Foot Horse Trail in the DeSoto National Forest when Evan Joseph Kane fired a gun in their direction. Apparently, Kane was deer hunting at the time of the incident. Both horse riders and a horse suffered gunshot personal injuries. The ten year old girl suffered a punctured lung and was placed in intensive care. For safety, the trail is designed so that most of its length is near a public road, where shooting is prohibited.