Trampoline Accident Lawyer

Can I Sue If My Child Was Injured?

One of the fastest growing trends in Georgia for children's parties and physical fitness over the last few years has been the opening of many indoor trampoline parks across the state.

According to Bethany Evans, the executive vice president of the International Association of Trampoline Parks “Trampoline parks are the newest form of family entertainment available keeping children, teenagers and adults physically active."

But as you will see, our Trampoline Injury Lawyers have uncovered some interesting details about these parks and their lack of safety standards.

Trampoline injuries lead to nearly 100,000 emergency room visits a year, according to estimates from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

These indoor parks have foam pits, obstacle courses, dodgeball, basketball hoops and various other group activities to keep children and teenagers actively engaged. However, some parents of injured children are now suing trampoline parks for broken bone injuries, neck injuries, back injuries, spinal cord injuries, skull fractures, and traumatic brain injuries.

So you might, with such a potential for injury, there must be thousands of regulations to opening up a facility.

Well maybe not...


Limited Rules and Regulations Governing Georgia Trampoline Parks

Few states have passed legislation requiring park owners to follow design standards drafted in the ASTM F2970-13, Standard Practice for Design, Manufacture, Installation, Operation, Maintenance, Inspection and Major Modification of Trampoline Courts, to regulate the installation and maintenance of trampoline courts.

Georgia lawmakers introduced House Bill 488, better known as the “Jonathan Magwood Trampoline Park Safety Act,” in February 2015 to provide minimum standards for the operation of such facilities, including mandatory licensing, inspections and record-keeping, but it failed to pass a second reading.

Industry officials said they still fully support the Georgia bill, which was named for a 28-year-old youth football coach who broke his neck and was paralyzed below the shoulders after flipping from a trampoline into a foam pit at Rockbridge Adventures.

State laws regulate trampoline parks less compared to other amusement parks since they don’t require moving parts or machinery.\

This means safety infractions may go unnoticed in routine maintenance inspections.

So, with limited regulation, you might be wondering what are Trampoline Parks Responsible for?

Trampoline Park Responsibilities

Based on the laws of premises liability, businesses like trampoline parks and their owners have a legal duty to provide for the "reasonable care" of customers invited and those uninvited to the property.

Even if the business owner has a guardian or the participant themselves sign a

waiver, the waiver doesn’t apply when a business owner negligently allows a dangerous condition to exist on their property.

A trampoline property owner owes a different duty of care to each of these three categories of visitor:

  • Invitees - A property owner must protect invitees from any dangerous condition that the owner knows or should know about. Property owners must inspect property, their equipment and must either fix any dangerous conditions they find or warn invitees about them.

  • Licensees or Visitors - A property owner must protect his licensees from dangers he knows about by warning them. He or she is not, however, required to inspect the premises or to fix dangerous conditions as soon as he finds them.

  • Trespassers - A property owner must not create dangerous conditions on his property or make them worse in order to catch trespassers. However, a property owner is not required to fix dangerous conditions or warn trespassers about them specifically.

Trampoline park property owners must provide regular safety maintenance inspections, repair any known dangers on the premises, and warn guests and visitors of known hazards.

Without this duty of care severe injuries can and will take place.

Below is a list of common injuries that happen at Trampoline Parks.

Common Trampoline Injuries

Most trampoline park injuries occur from jumpers colliding with others, landing improperly, or falling off onto the springs or support frames. Also, when children and adults are allowed to jump in the same area, the chances of a collision and severe injuries increase dramatically.

Some other causes include overcrowding of the facility, subpar equipment or under maintained equipment, the failure of many parks to offer instruction on the proper way to use trampolines, and a lack of properly trained personnel.

Below are some of the most common injury conditions:

  1. Broken or Fractured Bones

  2. Ligament Sprains and Strains

  3. Soft Tissue Injuries

  4. Neck Injuries

  5. Brain Injuries

  6. Spinal Cord Injuries

  7. Chipped Teeth

So what can I do if Myself or my Child was injured?

If you or your child was injured at a trampoline park in Georgia, it’s possible to sue.

Courts may find the property owner, business manager, or an employee negligent in his or her duties to provide a reasonably safe premises for guests at the time of your injury.

So get a hold of The Brown Firm now and let us first provide guidance to the best medical care possible to deal with your injuries and then we can provide you a thorough review of your case, we will determine who is liable for your injuries and focus on settling your claim for a just amount.

If necessary, our experienced Georgia Personal Injury Attorneys will take your Trampoline Park Injury case to trial to protect your interests and ensure that no one else suffers the same fate.

We have 3 offices in the state of Georgia located in Savannah, Atlanta, and Athens to serve you.