Trampolines are a great way for kids to burn off their excess energy, but they can also be dangerous. Injuries to the head, neck, and back are common. Nearly 100,000 emergency room visits per year are attributed to injuries sustained while using a trampoline. A significant portion of trampoline accidents leads to legal disputes over who is responsible for the damages. In California, it is estimated that about 25,000 such cases occur each year. If an injury, loss, or damage occurs due to negligence, then the party who owns or is responsible for the trampoline may face civil liability.
If you or someone close to you is injured on a trampoline, the first thing you need to concern yourself with is getting proper medical care. The California injury lawyers at the Johnson Attorneys Group can help you to obtain any damages for which you deserve compensation.
California Trampoline Accident & Injury Law
Many insurance companies have started looking at trampolines similarly to how they look at swimming pools, which are sometimes referred to as “attractive nuisances.” This is due to their tendency to attract uninvited children, who can become injured by these devices. For this reason, many insurance providers require trampolines to be fenced in, and some homeowner’s insurance policies exclude trampolines from insurance coverage entirely.
- Premise Liability - Negligence is a legal term used to denote an instance where a person or persons have failed to provide adequate and reasonable measures to provide for the safety of others. In the case of the use of a trampoline, this can mean improper maintenance of the device, improper supervision of minors, or inadequate fencing. Homeowners have a legal obligation to exercise care when it comes to the safety of people visiting their property. Those who breach that duty may be deemed negligent, and may be liable for any resulting injuries. A homeowner's failure to adhere to recommended trampoline safety precautions might be deemed by a court to have breached this legal duty.
- Product Liability - In the case where the trampoline failed, a product liability case may be brought against the manufacturer. In trampoline accidents, negligence can sometimes be attributed to the manufacturer if the device is found to have a design flaw, be constructed using substandard materials or engineering principles, or if they fail to warn of potential hazards. Any injury resulting from negligence on the part of the manufacturer can result in a breach of duty.
Frequently Asked Questions for Trampoline Injury Lawyer in California
Despite guidelines published by the American Academy of Orthopedics that discourage the use of trampolines for recreational play due to the inherent dangers, many children and adolescents succumb to injuries such as fractures and cervical spine injuries every year. The netting, padding and foam covers used in home trampolines and jump park are not enough to prevent these types of injuries. Recent studies indicate that some 75% of trampoline-related injuries resulted from multiple simultaneous users and that young children are 14 times more likely to sustain injury compared to older children present.
The plaintiff may seek damages for financial (i.e., medical bills, lost earning capacity, and future medical costs/treatment) and noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement, and scarring.
Failed flips or somersaults are a major contributor to cervical spine injuries that can result from playing on trampolines. Around 10% to 17% of trampoline-associated injuries result in head or neck injury and 0.5% cause permanent brain damage. Falls from the trampoline account for up to 39% of related injuries and can have devastating consequences if the head or neck receive a great enough amount of impact.
If the park owner(s)/management has been negligent in their managing, repairing, or in ensuring adequate supervision is present at the park, and this negligence results in an injury, you may be able to bring legal action against the owner/operator of the trampoline park.
When a trampoline manufacturer is responsible for the injury, a product liability case may be brought against them. Failure to warn of possible hazards, design flaws, and use of inferior materials may all fall under negligence in this case.
Despite the prevalence of trampoline park injuries, facility owners/managers are obliged to maintain the park and equipment to ensure a reasonably safe environment for guests. They can be found negligent if there is a failure to properly maintain equipment, neglecting to block access to dangerous areas, or a lack of proper supervision of minors.
- Seek immediate medical attention
- When possible, fill out an incident report with the park management and request copies of video surveillance of the event
- Contact the legal professionals at the Johnson Attorneys Group—whether you signed a waiver or not—to help you determine if you are entitled to compensation.
The legal staff at the Johnson Attorneys Group can answer many questions you may have regarding trampoline park injuries you or a loved one may have sustained and will not charge you any legal fees until we settle or win your case. We can help you determine liability for the injury, and serve as liaison to file the appropriate motions, pay your medical bills and make sure you can receive the best medical attention.
Get a Free Trampoline Injury Case Review from Our Personal Injury Attorney in California
If you are injured on a trampoline in California and believe you are owed compensation for your damages, a personal injury lawyer can help you sort out the facts and determine liability. The lawyers at Johnson Attorneys Group can speak with the other party’s insurance provider, file appropriate motions, pay medical bills, and even help you to access the best medical care.
