Number of ambulance calls to trampoline parks disclosed
- 15.03.2017
- EmmaArnold
- Clinical-negligence, Clinical-negligence
More than 300 ambulances were called out to trampoline parks due to injuries on the equipment in the UK this year.
The BBC 5 Live Daily programme looked at statistics which showed the ambulance callouts made by 30 parks in the last 12 months.
The most common injury was a broken limb, particularly a broken leg, but lots of people suffered broken vertebrae and other back and spinal injuries.
Lesley Herbertson, senior solicitor of clinical negligence at PotterReesDolan, said:
Sadly, fun times at trampoline parks and on bouncy castles can sometimes also bring with them very serious injuries. Whilst depending on the circumstances of the accident, responsibility for it often lies somewhere between the individual user and the owner of the facility, the care that a person receives after such an incident can also be substandard.
Ambulance crew and A&E staff can fail to properly investigate with a patient the mechanism of the injury, including the height of any fall, perhaps under-estimating the possible force with which they have come about their accident. For example, if a potential spinal injury is not discovered and acted upon quickly, the victim might find themselves with very serious consequences, such as being wheelchair bound. Therefore, more needs to be done to improve the safety of these places of fun and, arguably, the injuries that they can lead to also need to be properly investigated so that the worst outcomes can be avoided.
The rate of ambulance callouts varied dramatically across the trampoline parks with one park in Chester being investigated after three people broke their backs on the same day.
More than 140 trampoline parks have opened since the first one opened in 2014 which highlights the popularity of the activity.
A CEO of one of them explained the design of the parks have changed to reduce the potential for accidents with smaller areas to eliminate the risk of injury with less chance of gaining too much speed.
Those who have been injured on trampolines, and their families, are warning others to be careful and realise the environment isn't as safe as you may assume.
Lesley Herbertson is a senior clinical negligence solicitor with PotterReesDolan. Should you have any queries about suffering an injury at a trampoline park or indeed any other clinical negligence issues and wish to speak to Lesley or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888 or email Lesley.