bounce house

Published on: July 5, 2019

What are Some Safety Measures for Children in Bounce Houses? A Doctor Provides Some Advice.

Summer is filed with fun and play for children. For some, the bounce house is a great place for children to exercise, move around, and socialize with friends. The bounce house can also the scene of a serious injury especially for small children and toddlers. Just because a bounce house is padded and filled with air does not mean that a bounce house is a safe place.

Bounce house play can be a fun time for your children this summer, but repeatedly jumping up and coming down in various ways come with inherent risks. While it is difficult to completely ensure your child’s safety within a bounce house without being over-protective, measures can be taken to minimize safety risks. When buying or renting a bounce house to use for a children’s event check to make sure that the selected bounce house is equipped with safety nets and is set up as instructed by the manufacturer. This includes remembering to securely fashion the bounce house to the ground in order to account for sudden gusts of wind that may topple over the house. While most injuries suffered within bounce houses are not severe, if wind knocks the house airborne with children inside of it, the chance of serious injury skyrockets. Though it may be hard to regulate, keeping the number of children within the bounce house below its maximum capacity further minimizes risk of injury to your child.

Dr. David Foley, medical director of an urgent care centers, states that summer is the season that sees the most “slip, trip, or fall’ injuries. He goes on to state that risk of injury is inevitable in bounce houses due to promoting jumping and falling in different ways. The risk is even greater in these cases as the bounce houses allow for falls from even greater heights, generating more momentum and force as they fall back to ground which can lead to more serious injury. When setting up a bounce house outdoors, check weather reports for rain as a slippery bounce house can be a recipe for disaster, adding more risk to an already dangerous activity. According to doctor Foley the most common injuries that occur within bounce houses are to the limbs. These types of injuries include but are not limited to, twisted ankles, fractured elbows, and in the most serious of cases, head trauma. For events in which parents plan to use a bounce house, assigning supervisors to keep watch over what’s happening within the bounce house can prevent injuries that are results of negligence. See Bounce House Play – Keeping Children Safe.

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Published on: November 8, 2017

What if a Child is Injured in a Bounce House? Lack of Regulations and Lack of Enforcement

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

In States across the nation, bounce houses are commonly seen in neighborhood, strip malls, carnivals, birthday parties, theme parks, amusement parks, festivals, schools, playgrounds, and community events. Unfortunately, many States do not regulate bounce house companies and the States that do have limited and sporadic enforcement of the permitting laws and regulations. Furthermore, even if a company is permitted to place or rent a bounce house, there is not much in the way of supervision or enforcement in the way that the bounce house companies monitor the use of the bounce house. In most cases, the bounce house is dropped off at a party and the parents or party organizers are left with the task and responsibility for monitoring children using the bounce house.

Unfortunately, the important task of supervision is poorly planned and poor executed. Furthermore, parents and party organizers rarely have the training, experience, or know-how as to the proper use and occupancy of bounce houses. Some safety experts recommend that children under the age of 6 years old should not play in bounce houses. Some set the age limit at under the age of 3 years old. Any child, who is unsteady on his or her feet, should avoid play in a bounce house because these children are at high risk for falling and getting injured.

Many bounce house injuries result from rough play in the bounce house that is not properly supervised or stopped when first initiated. When there is a mixture of older and bigger children (teens) and younger – small children (pre-schools and early elementary school aged children), injuries can easily happen when the smaller child is bounced too hard and is knocked over or fallen on by the older child. Overcrowding can also lead to personal injuries of children playing in a bounce houses.

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Published on: August 26, 2016

What are the Duties and Responsibilities of a Trampoline Park? Legal Rights of the Injured Child

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

By David A. Wolf, Attorney – Child Injury Lawyer Blog

Trampoline Park and Bounce House Personal Injuries.001

Over the past few years, there has been a growth in the number and presence of trampoline parks and indoor bounce house locations and facilities. While these recreation, sports, amusement park, and theme park attractions can be great ways to have fun and exercise, they are also the locations of unfortunate and preventable injuries to children. There are risks with any forms of physical activity and sports. There are also safety measures and rules that should be followed to reduce these risks. If children, parents, and facility supervisors follow and enforce the rules and safety measures, many personal injuries can be prevented.

When a child is a guest or visitor to a trampoline park or bounce house, there is a duty on the part of the trampoline park / bounce house operator and owner to provide a reasonably safe play environment for the children. The duty is one of the four elements necessary to prove up a case for personal injuries on behalf of the injured child. The four elements are as the following:

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Published on: July 16, 2015

What are the Legal Rights of Children Injured at Trampoline Parks, Bounce House Activity Centers, and Attraction / Theme Parks?

By Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

By David Wolf, Attorney

Published by Child Injury Lawyer Blog

During the summer and other times of the year, children are welcomed visitors at trampoline parks, bounce house activity centers, attractions, and theme parks. In fact, at these locations, the marketing efforts of the companies and corporations are commonly directed to children. As such, if children are a major focus group of a company or business, then safety of those same children should be a priority as well. Of course, with any physical activity, there is a risk of injury.

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