[FL] Is a homeowner liable when a party guest is injured on a rented waterslide?

I’m sorry to hear about the injury at your daughter’s birthday party; that must be a stressful situation. Have you already communicated with the girl’s father or any insurance companies regarding the incident?

Did you have any written agreements or contracts with the company from which you rented the waterslide?

Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured they’ll be able to help with your liability concerns.

Hello! I’m an attorney with over 20 years of experience. Thanks so much for the opportunity to assist you!

Based on what you’ve told me, the hold harmless agreement you signed with the rental company is your strongest protection, assuming it’s properly written and covers injuries during the party. That said, the girl’s father asking for the rental receipt and company info suggests he may be exploring a claim. Your best move right now is to not volunteer information and avoid any written communication with him until you understand your actual exposure. Do you know if the rental company has liability insurance, and has the father made any specific demands or threats yet?

That’s an important clarification. If the hold harmless agreement runs the other direction, it doesn’t protect you at all, and you’re potentially exposed to liability for the injury. The fact that her ankle was already hurt actually helps your position quite a bit. If both girls confirmed the ankle was pre-existing and the waterslide just aggravated it, that weakens any claim against you significantly. You’d only be liable for the additional damage caused by the waterslide, not the original injury.

That said, premises liability law varies by state, and whether you owe a duty to an invitee at a birthday party depends on local rules. Generally, homeowners aren’t liable for injuries that result from a pre-existing condition unless you were negligent in some way, like failing to warn about a hazard or allowing unsafe equipment. The fact that the girls themselves identified the pre-existing injury is good evidence you weren’t hiding anything.

Right now, the father gathering information is actually normal. He may be trying to figure out if there’s even a viable claim before spending money on an attorney. Your best move is to stay quiet and not volunteer anything. Don’t respond to his questions, and if he persists, that’s when you might want to talk to someone locally who can review the actual rental agreement and assess your real exposure.

What state are you in? That matters for how liability works in your situation.

In Florida, you’re actually in a pretty good position here, especially given the facts you’ve described.

ASSUMED RISK AND NEGLIGENCE: Florida recognizes the doctrine of assumed risk, which means a person who voluntarily participates in an activity knowing the risks involved cannot recover damages for injuries resulting from those inherent risks (see the Florida Attorney General’s discussion of assumption of risk and Blackburn v. Dorta, 348 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 1977)). The “play at your own risk” signs on the waterslide support this. However, assumed risk doesn’t protect you from liability if you were actually negligent. The key question is whether you did anything wrong. Based on what you’ve told me, you didn’t. The rental company set it up, you followed all the rules and warnings, and the equipment wasn’t modified or misused. That’s the opposite of negligence.

PREMISES LIABILITY IN FLORIDA: Florida law says homeowners owe a duty of care to invitees (people invited onto the property). But that duty is to keep the premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers. It doesn’t extend to injuries caused by the invitee’s own pre-existing conditions or to injuries that result from activities the invitee voluntarily participated in with full knowledge of the risks. The fact that both girls confirmed her ankle was already hurt is huge. That means the injury wasn’t caused by an unsafe condition on your property; it was caused by her pre-existing condition being aggravated during a voluntary activity. (Under Florida’s comparative fault statute, Section 768.81, Florida Statutes, any fault on the injured person’s part reduces what she can recover, and a claimant found more than 50 percent at fault for her own harm recovers nothing.)

WHY YOU’RE LIKELY NOT LIABLE: You didn’t create the hazard. You didn’t fail to warn. You didn’t allow unsafe equipment. You didn’t know about her pre-existing ankle injury before she got on the slide. And she voluntarily chose to use the slide knowing the risks. None of this points to negligence on your part.

THE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE QUESTION: This is where things get a little tricky. Even if you’re not legally liable, the father could still file a claim against your homeowners policy. Insurance companies have to investigate claims, and sometimes they settle claims that don’t have strong legal merit just to avoid the cost of litigation. That’s a business decision they make. If they do pay out, your rates could go up or your policy could be non-renewed, depending on your insurer’s practices. However, the strength of your position here should work in your favor if the claim gets to that point. An insurer reviewing the facts, the pre-existing injury, the assumed risk signs, and the lack of any negligence on your part might decline to pay or might push back on the claim.

WHAT TO DO NOW: Don’t volunteer information to the father. Don’t post anything on social media about the incident. If he contacts you directly with a claim or demand letter, forward it immediately to your homeowners insurance company. That’s what you’re paying for. Let them handle it. They have attorneys and adjusters who deal with these situations constantly. Your job is to give them all the facts, be honest about what happened, and let them evaluate the claim.

The $21k surgery cost is significant, but it doesn’t change the legal analysis. Even if the injury is expensive, liability still depends on whether you did something wrong. You didn’t.

Did I answer your main concerns here, or is there something else about the liability question or your insurance exposure you want to dig into?

Thank you for trusting me with this. I know it’s stressful.

You’re welcome! :)