Do You Have A Trampoline Injury Case In California?

How Did The Trampoline Injury Occur?

You may be wondering if you have a trampoline injury case in California. This article will walk you through the deductive legal reasoning to evaluate that question.

The lawyers mind will run through a deductive and sequential analysis to determine the probabilities of a successful Trampoline injury case in California, or not, after a trampoline injury accident. The first question will be “Was there a physical injury?”. In any trampoline injury lawsuit in California, there must be a physical injury to warrant a damage award. For example, rude attendant won’t be sufficient to warrant a damage award. On the other hand, orthopedic injury warranting medical care such as hospitalization, surgery or similar care would warrant a damage award if the other variables are in place.

A lawyer will want to know how the injury occurred to evaluate if someone or a business entity may be responsible. If the user is jumping beyond their physical ability and injures themself on an otherwise perfectly maintained and operational trampoline then fault likely rests with the user. Think of it this way. If an adult comes to a trampoline park and becomes a ‘weekend warrior’ attempting backflips and simply lands the wrong way injuring themselves, then likely no fault of anyone other than the user. On the other hand, if that same ‘weekend warrior’ does the backflip and the trampoline bed collapses upon landing, or is not properly padded, or has springs improperly maintained causing over compression of the trampoline bed and a subsequent injury, then there may well be a responsible person or entity, other than the user.

The types of issues our law firm has seen in successful trampoline park injury cases are generally improper maintenance of the trampoline apparatus (such as springs not being replaced, padding not replaced, not secured, not monitored and adjusted as it becomes dislodged, the pad not replaced or properly maintained and walkway onto the trampoline not secured). We have also seen an instance where the elevated platform to jump onto the trampoline did not have guardrails causing a fall from height to the cement floor below. In evaluating the case, the lawyer will also look at who was hired to monitor and maintain the trampoline park. It may well be that the attendants are kids with summer jobs who have no training or protocols in place to manage and inspect the trampoline park for potential safety hazards.

Once it has been determined that the potential client has been injured and there may be fault of another, the next question becomes, “who is responsible?”.

The Landowner May Be Responsible

If the trampoline injury occurred on private property, the homeowner may be responsible. If the homeowner negligently maintained or negligently supervised use of the trampoline, then then he or she may be responsible. A homeowner has just as much responsibility as a theme park to maintain their trampoline to avoid injury. For example, if a homeowner kept their trampoline in the backyard and it was exposed to rain and the elements, it will weather and wear. If the homeowner now invites people onto his/her property to go for a jump, and fails to inspect / replace faulty work parts and the trampoline then fails causing injury, the injured person likely has a claim.

Likewise, if the injury occurred in a trampoline theme park, the landowner may also be responsible, depending upon the terms of the lease agreement with the theme park (by contract a landowner may shift defense and indemnification for injury to the theme park entity).

The Trampoline Company / Theme Park Operator May Be Responsible

Further, in evaluating a trampoline injury case in California, we must look at Theme Park Operators and the Trampoline Company. If the injury occurred as a result of improper maintenance, operation, inspection or other legal duties that attach to the Theme Park Operator, then this will be the lawyers primary focus. We had one case where the operators where using the underside of the trampoline as a storge area, not leaving enough room for the user to bounce. In another instance, the material covering the walkway onto the trampoline was not supported properly, causing the user to fall. In these instances, the sooner we are hired, the sooner we can inspect the trampoline and preserve evidence. Waiting is generally not the friend of the injured person. While the responsible party has the duty to preserve evidence, The evidence is gone…now what? (plaintiffmagazine.com) that often does not occur.

Other Potentially Responsible Persons / Entities

If the trampoline is well maintained and the park runs well and an injury occurs, such as a collapse, it may be the responsibility of the manufacturer. In this instance, they may be liable for placing a defective product into the stream of commerce causing injury to the end user. It may also be that another park user is responsible if he / she was negligent in the way they used the trampoline around others. For example, if our ‘weekend warrior’ does a backflip and lands on the knee of another, causing injury, our ‘weekend warrior’ may a claim made against their homeowners insurance.

Trampoline Injury? Free Consultation With Phillips & Pelly Injury Lawyers

As you see from above, trampoline injuries have many moving parts (I refrained from saying ‘many bouncing parts’). The types of injuries, how they were caused, who caused them and what responsibility the user may have, if any, are all variables that make or break a successful trampoline case. If you were injured in a trampoline accident, stop what you are doing and reach out. Trampoline injuries | Phillips & Pelly (sdinjury.com).

One of our friendly lawyers will stop what we are doing and listen to your case, evaluate the facts and let you know next best steps. We offer No Win, No Fee on all injury cases that we accept.