i am not disagreeing with you. the tricky part here is that this is very different from you and i buying into the skier's code and signing a waiver. it's not about how much fault/blame you can place on a reckless snowboarder either. and definitely not about that poor instructor. this is a case about a 5 year old, who was under JP's care. if you want sample cases? just look at the daycare industry. you think those parents sign a waiver?
as a for profit organization selling a product (in this case a service of ski instruction), it is your responsibility to make sure your product is safe. i am not trying to say that the parents should have sued. what i am saying is that this is how often it works in this country in our legal system.
now as a parent of 3 kids do i think JP could have done better? i think so. i cannot remember which resort, but i have seen in one occasion where more than 2 instructors (in the front, and the back of the group) were protecting a group of small children going down the mountain making sure the traffic behind the kids are alerted to stay far away from their kids.
the net net of it is, the resorts will tighten up the instructors, raise the prices and create more process nightmares, well that sux doesn't it. blame the rogue snowboarder....it only takes just one punk.....
This, again, is not about a product. That comparison is not accurate. This is about a service that was rendered and, as said, the parents signed a standard release before leaving their kid with the lesson. I took a (free) lesson at JPR 10 years ago and even then I had to sign a release. It's pretty standard and they are usually enforceable. They most likely agreed to release JPR for ordinary negligence.
And yes, I've signed a release for my little one before she went to daycare at Snowbird.