Injury Lawyer Blog
Trampolines have been a under the microscope recently due to increased number injuries caused by the device. According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, trampoline injuries account for nearly 100,000 emergency room visits a year. It was also shown that the number of injuries sustained at home, during 2010-2014, did not increase.
On the other hand, the number of injuries that were sustained at indoor trampoline parks shockingly rose from 581 in 2010 to 6,932 in 2014. This rise in injuries has shined the spotlight on the increasingly prevalent indoor trampoline parks which individuals are place in areas filled with wall-to-wall trampoline pits.
According the American Academy of Pediatrics, the injuries sustained are a majority focused in the lower extremities, 59% of all emergency visits were due to leg fractures. The Academy cautions strongly against the recreational use of trampolines because of the likelihood of injury.
The heights that are able to be reached at these parks are extreme when compared with typical backyard trampolines. Dr. Katherine Leaming-Van Zandt, an emergency medicine physician at Texas Children’s Hospital explains, “Trampoline parks’ ability to reach higher heights is certainly a contributor to more lower extremity injuries because the impact as they’re landing can be much greater.”
Recently, the International Association of Trampoline Parks issued a statement explaining that more than 50 million individuals visit trampoline parks in the previous year and that there would “naturally be an increase” in the number of injuries reported to have occurred at indoor trampoline parks. Added safety measures, such as additional padding has been discussed, but the most common and stressed safety measure involves parent supervision.