Washington State is home to a relatively high number of trampoline parks.  With a high number of parks comes injuries. Some injuries may not be preventable.  However, it’s possible that many are due, at least in part, to the negligence of the trampoline park, its employees, or the park’s malfunctioning equipment. That’s why we are here. We are here to help you and your child recover by holding trampoline parks responsible for their negligence.

If you’ve already read enough, please feel free to call or text us to start investigating.  If not, keep reading.  Most likely you found this page because of a traumatic injury your child sustained while at a trampoline park.  Your kid may have been double-bounced, pushed over, or landed on by a larger person.  Maybe the equipment malfunctioned or it was a broken trampoline.  The worst thing that can happen to someone’s child is an injury, especially at the behest of someone else’s negligence.

The most common question we get is “yea, but I signed a waiver, so can I really do anything?”

The Waiver

Any waiver worth the paper (or tablet) it’s printed on generally includes the same thing.  The trampoline park likely had you waive or “release” any future claims against the trampoline park, regardless of their own negligence, even if your child becomes paralyzed or severely injured because a trampoline park employee negligently falls on their leg.

Most waivers include these types of provisions, and many more.  The waivers might even suggest you consult with a lawyer before signing.  Find me a parent that consulted with a lawyer to discuss the waiver and I’ll find you a unicorn.

Can I still file a lawsuit against the trampoline park?

Probably.  While any good lawyer knows they can never guarantee results or even the possibility of a lawsuit, Washington State has some explicit laws that may deem the waiver you signed on behalf of your child invalid.  The case of Wagenblast vs. Odessa School District, shed a little bit of light on this issue. In Wagenblast, the Washington Supreme Court held that the release requirements (much like the waiver you most likely signed) violate public policy and deemed them invalid.

The Court held that there were “instances where public policy reasons for preserving an obligation of care owed by one person to another outweigh our traditional regard for the freedom to contract.” The school in question in the Wagenblast case was found to fall under the public policy exception that deemed the waiver invalid.  If you’ve got some extra time or motivation, check out the case here. http://courts.mrsc.org/supreme/110wn2d/110wn2d0845.htm

So what does this mean for me?

This means that you may be able to seek justice for your child if the trampoline park negligently caused injuries.  Every case is fact specific, and no case is a lock, but it’s worth a phone call to protect your child’s interest, especially if the injuries will have an impact on the rest of their lives.

Just a few years ago, a mother brought a lawsuit on behalf of her son that was injured at a trampoline park in Bellevue.  The 17-year-old suffered severe spinal cord injuries as the result of an accident.  There are several lawsuits already filed in the Seattle area. If you want to read more, here is the link. https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/living/trampoline-park-accidents-injuries/index.html

Trampoline Park Injuries in Washington State

Medical doctors all around the country are reporting a staggering number of injuries from trampoline parks.  There were 92,159 hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with trampolines in 2010, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. https://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/085.pdf

Injuries range from minor strains to severe spinal cord injuries like the case listed above, which can lead to the child being paralyzed. Dr. Gary Smith, president of the Child Injury Prevention Alliance, and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics states that trampolines were “initially designed as training devices for gymnasts and acrobats.” https://www.childinjurypreventionalliance.org/

Another injury which led to a lawsuit is described by this Seattle area mother: “failing to properly cover and pad the metal bars and pipes near the foam pit where her son was jumping. It also alleges that the trampoline park failed to provide adequate supervision and safeguards.”

Dr. Reshmi Basu, of the Children’s Hospital in Orange County stated that “Trampolines make me nervous personally. As pediatricians, we see injuries from them, like broken bones.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/questions-to-ask-before-playdates_n_5c406b33e4b0a8dbe16e142a

Doctors around the country have spoken out against the dangers of trampoline parks.  Not only are they dangerous, they are often poorly supervised.  Read below for some of the real-life experiences of parents like yourselves.  They are likely all too relatable. 

Real Parents . . . Real Parks . . . Real Reviews

One dad had this experience in a Seattle suburb…

“ Because of incompetent staff my 4 year old has now a broken knee. We went there for a birthday party. Our kids went to the  trampolines, we went with them to watch after them. The place was a chaos, with people running and jumping from trampoline to trampoline.  As soon as we were entering the play area a “staff member” (more like a clueless teenage girl) stopped us because we didn’t have jump stickers on our backs. Our kids did have their stickers. As she distracted us, a big older kid jumped on top of our 4 years old son and broke his knee. He won’t be able to walk for 6 weeks. This could have been so much worse, imagine if it had been his neck instead of his knee…”

Another patron had this to say:

“My boyfriend split his knee open down to the kneecap here and received almost no assistance from the employees whatsoever…They wouldn’t assist him off the trampolines, his friends had to carry him off, his friends had to ask for the ice pack and for towels to soak up the blood and to call an ambulance. Complete negligence on their part. Ended up in the ER with staples across his knee and he can’t walk for 3 days and can’t go back to work for 10 days. Unacceptable.”

One parent was frustrated with the lack of supervision near Seattle, WA…

“Maybe if they had an adult in the building, or if any of these kids had a clue this wouldn’t be the last time I ever come to this place…”

Trampoline Parks in Washington

Below is a sample of trampoline parks in Washington State.  Just because a park is listed here does not mean that they have been sued or have been negligent in any way, that we know of.

Seattle/Tacoma

  • Flying Circus Trampoline Park
  • Trampoline Nation
  • Elevated Sportz Trampoline Park
  • Trampoline Sportz
  • Vertex Arena
  • Defy Tacoma

Olympia

  • Boomshaka Olympia
  • Super Jump Party Zone
  • Aero Sports

Spokane

  • Flying Squirrel Trampoline Park
  • Altitude Trampoline Park
  • Get Air Trampoline Park