Connecticut Children at risk of Trampoline Injury
Spring is here and from Greenwich, to Bridgeport to New Haven, Connecticut, we are outside and loving it. However, with outdoor activity comes risks of serious personal injuries to children that are both obvious and not so obvious. "Go outside and play," we tell them over and over. No more computer, texting, instant messaging, "wii"ing. The kids are bouncing off the walls, but they should not be bouncing on a trampoline, ever, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
My own kids have been begging for two things for several years. First is a dog. We are 4-1 on this one, with the one "no" vote being my wife, who insists she will be the one soley in charge of all dog care (she is quite right, and therefore, she wins this one). Second is a trampoline. We are 3-2 on this one, where both my wife and I agree that we will not have one (we even rejected a neighbor's offer of a free one last year-his kids no longer used it). We have both seen firsthand the serious injuries that children can suffer while on a trampoline.
Injuries to children from jumping on a trampoline are not only common, they are quite often serious enough to change a child's life forever, without warning, and without the child doing something wrong, without there being a defect in the manufacture of the trampoline and can even happen when there is proper parental supervision.
This situation begs the question: Are trampolines so dangerous that they should be banned altogether
The AAP article noted above clearly states that trampolines should have no role in a child's active life, because of these serious risks. There are even injuries associated with trampolines that doctors rarely, if ever, see occurring in other activities. A Westport, Connecticut family learned just how such an injury can occur, quickly, without warning and with devastating results. While on a newly acquired trampoline, bouncing for the first time, their seven year old girl landed awkwardly, causing tears and fractures in her leg and knee that required major surgical repairs. At the time, doctors did not know if this young girl would ever walk unassisted again. And, while she has made a dramatic recovery, she is left with a scar on her leg, and the memory of a terrifying and painful experience caused through no fault of her own.
In another case that I personally handled, an eleven year old Stamford, Connecticut girl was invited to a neighbor's house to play. The girl's mom did not know that there was a trampoline at the neighbor's house. My client's daughter, and her friend got on the trampoline for a bounce. Moments later, she was tumbling backward off the equipment onto the rocky surface around its base. There was no safety netting, and no parent or other adult to supervise them. More significantly, though, was the fact that this trampoline had been placed on an uneven area of the neighbor's property. This uneven location caused the girl to unexectedly bounce toward the edge of the trampoline, where she lost her footing on the rim, and in turn, fell backward to the ground. As a result of this unexpected fall, she suffered a broken humerous, and was left with a permanent injury to her arm. Fortunately, the neighbor's homeowners insurance carrier concluded that the neighbor was negligent (failed to use reasonable care) because she had failed to properly supervise the childrens' use of the trampoline, and had placed the trampoline on a sloped, rather than a level surface. The carrier therefore agreed to provide appropriate compensation to the girl's family for her injuries and likely future medical needs. If your child has suffered a personal injury while on a trampoline, or as a result of someone's negligence, you should consult an experienced personal injury attorney to know your rights
