What Happens If I Get Hurt At A Trampoline Park?

If you get hurt at a trampoline park in California, you may have a personal injury claim. Seek medical care, report the incident, document the scene, and preserve any waiver or receipt you signed.

Trampoline park accidents can cause broken bones, head injuries, spinal injuries, and other lasting harm. When these injuries result from unsafe conditions, poor supervision, or poor equipment maintenance, California’s general safety and premises liability laws may apply. These businesses must still follow applicable building codes, local regulations, and general safety requirements.

You could seek compensation from the park, an employee, another jumper, or the equipment maker. It depends on what caused your injury. A signed waiver does not automatically prevent you from filing a claim.

What To Do After A Trampoline Park Accident In California

Evidence from a trampoline accident can disappear within days, and the steps you take now determine whether your legal claim holds up. If you or your child was hurt at a trampoline park in California, here is what to do to protect your health and your case.

1. Get Medical Care: Even if the injury feels minor, see a doctor. Some injuries, like spinal damage or a concussion, do not show symptoms immediately. A medical record helps connect your injury to the accident. Without this evidence, the other side can claim your injuries were minor or not linked to the accident.
2. Report the Injury to Park Staff: Ask them to prepare a formal written incident report. Request a copy before you leave. Do not rely only on a verbal promise that the injury was documented.
3. Gather Evidence: Trampoline parks often feature several courts, foam pits, climbing areas, and similar equipment. Note where the injury occurred. Include the attraction’s name, court or lane number, and any labels, model numbers, or identifying marks on the equipment. Take photos of the area. Include mats, padding, springs, netting, platforms, warning signs, barriers, and entrances.
4. Collect Witness Information: Write down the names and phone numbers of any witnesses who saw the fall. Note also which staff were supervising.
5. Handle Post-Accident Documents: Review each document carefully before signing. A park form may contain a release, settlement term, or statement that could later affect the claim. Do not sign any post-accident statement or speak to an insurance adjuster without first consulting a lawyer.
6. Contact a Trampoline Accident Lawyer: Trampoline accident claims can be complicated. They often involve many parties, disputed facts, and insurance issues. Talking to a lawyer can help you know your rights. It can also show you if filing a personal injury claim is an option.

Common Causes Of Trampoline Park Accidents

Some trampoline park injuries are inherent to the activity. Others can result from poor maintenance, lack of supervision, or design flaws in the equipment.

Common causes include:

• Poor Maintenance: Worn pads, exposed springs, and torn mats create unsafe surfaces.
• Lack of Supervision: When staff are not watching, risky jumps may go unchecked.
• Overcrowding: Too many jumpers raise the chance of a crash.
• The Double Bounce: When a heavier jumper lands, they may send a lighter child airborne. The weight difference makes the force far greater than a normal jump. That extreme impact can cause serious injuries on landing.

The force of these falls and crashes can cause severe injuries, especially in young children:

• Spinal cord damage.
• Neck injuries.
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Broken bones.

Children can also suffer growth plate injuries. Growth plates are soft areas near the ends of growing bones. Some growth plate injuries can be difficult to detect on an initial X-ray. Ongoing pain, swelling, or difficulty moving may require further imaging. These cases may also require consultation with a pediatric orthopedic specialist.

Trampoline-related injuries sometimes require hospitalization. In 2019, a national study found that 885 children left U.S. hospitals due to trampoline injuries. Among the hospitalized cases, 13.2% had severe brain, spine, or abdominal injuries.

The park’s duty to fix a hazard depends on two things. First, was the risk part of the activity? Second, was it an added danger from poor maintenance, design, or supervision? Trampoline park accident lawyers rely on available evidence to determine liability in these cases.

Can You Pursue Compensation For A Trampoline Park Injury?

Under state law, you may have the right to pursue compensation for a trampoline park injury through an insurance claim. California Civil Code § 1714 establishes a basic rule: everyone must exercise ordinary care to avoid injuring others. If someone’s failure to do so directly caused your injuries and losses, they may be liable for the incident.

When someone gets hurt on a trampoline, trampoline accident lawyers might find these liable parties:

• Park Owner: The owner should regularly inspect the property. They need to fix unsafe conditions and inform guests about any known dangers. The owner may be responsible if a preventable hazard caused the injury.
• Staff Members: An employee or the park may be liable if inadequate supervision or other careless conduct breached a legal duty and substantially contributed to the injury.
• Equipment Maker: If the trampoline was defective, the manufacturer may be at fault. Product liability law means a maker can be held responsible for harm caused by a faulty product.

What If I Were Partly At Fault For My Accident?

Being partly responsible for your trampoline park accident does not automatically prevent you from recovering. California follows comparative-fault principles. A court or jury may assign a percentage of responsibility to each person or business whose conduct contributed to the injury.

The trampoline park or its insurer might say you helped cause the accident. They could claim you ignored staff instructions, tried a banned move, entered a restricted area, removed safety gear, or didn’t follow the rules posted. In that case, your compensation is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned by the court. For example, if you have $100,000 in damages but are found 25% responsible, the recovery may be reduced to $75,000.

When the injured person is a child, the analysis may differ from the standard applied to an adult. The child’s age, intelligence, experience, and ability to understand the risk may affect whether the child acted with reasonable care. That is why our firm focuses on the other party’s actions when handling cases involving injured minors.

For example, a truck driver hit a 6-year-old boy riding his bike. The driver tried to blame the child for the accident. Our team showed that the accident happened because the trucker was distracted. This helped us get a $3.5 million settlement for our client. While past results do not guarantee future outcomes, they show how fault assessments can change when the injured victim is a minor.

Which Insurance May Cover A Trampoline Park Injury?

The applicable insurance depends on who caused the accident and how the injury occurred. Potential coverage may include:

• The Park’s Commercial Liability Insurance: This insurance covers injuries arising from unsafe areas, poor supervision, lack of maintenance, or other actions for which the park is responsible.
• The Property Owner’s Insurance: If a separate landlord or property owner was responsible for a dangerous condition, their liability policy may apply.
• A Contractor’s Insurance: A maintenance, repair, installation, or inspection company may have coverage if its work contributed to the accident.
• Product Liability Insurance: A manufacturer, distributor, seller, or installer may have coverage when defective equipment causes an injury.
• Homeowners or Renters Insurance: If another jumper caused the accident, that person’s household liability coverage may apply in some circumstances. Homeowners policies commonly include personal liability coverage for injuries for which an insured household member is legally responsible, subject to the policy’s terms and exclusions.

Identifying a responsible party does not guarantee that sufficient insurance exists. Policy exclusions, coverage limits, and additional insured provisions can impact compensation. Disputes between insurers may also affect how much you receive and where it comes from. When several businesses or people share responsibility, it’s key to identify and review each policy.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

By filing a personal injury claim, you can seek compensation from the party at fault. It can cover two types of losses: economic and non-economic. Economic damages address direct financial costs. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering.

• Economic damages are meant to address your direct financial costs. These may include hospital bills, surgeries, therapy visits, and chiropractic care. It covers any future medical care you or your child may need. A parent may also have a separate claim for certain accident-related expenses or necessary care provided to the child. Whether missed wages are recoverable depends on the evidence and California’s damages rules.
• Non-economic damages cover losses that cannot be measured in receipts. They are designed to compensate your child for their pain, emotional distress, and the loss of joy in everyday life. When a child suffers a serious injury, like a growth plate fracture that stops normal bone growth, the long-term effect on their life matters. That impact is factored into the value of this type of damage.

What Happens When You File A Trampoline Park Injury Claim?

A trampoline park injury claim usually begins with an investigation and an insurance claim. Not every case requires a lawsuit or trial.

However, filing a lawsuit may become necessary if the responsible party denies liability, disputes the injury, offers too little compensation, refuses to provide evidence, or the filing deadline approaches. The basic process may include:

1. Gather Evidence: Gather photographs, videos, witness statements, medical records, waivers, incident reports, and information about the park’s ownership and insurance.
2. Submit the Claim: A claim is submitted to the park’s insurer and any other applicable insurance companies. The insurer may investigate the accident, request documents, interview witnesses, and dispute liability or the amount of the losses.
3. Settlement Negotiations: Once enough information is available, the injured person may request compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. The parties may negotiate directly or participate in mediation. Many claims settle without a trial.
4. File a Lawsuit: If the parties cannot reach a fair agreement, the injured person may file a lawsuit before the applicable deadline. Filing a lawsuit does not necessarily mean the case will go to trial. Negotiations may continue throughout the case.
5. Go to Court: If further negotiations fail, the case may proceed to trial. A judge or jury decides on the outcome.

The time required depends on the severity of the injuries, the length of medical treatment, the number of responsible parties, insurance disputes, available evidence, and whether litigation is necessary.

California Deadlines For Trampoline Park Injury Cases

In California, you generally have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. Tolling rules and shorter claim-specific deadlines may apply in certain circumstances. Missing the applicable deadline can bar the case.

If your child were hurt, the clock typically pauses until they turn 18. That means your child technically has until their 20th birthday to sue. If you are a parent seeking reimbursement for your own costs, your own deadline is not paused and still runs from the date of the accident.

The law might give more time for a child’s claim, but waiting can make it harder to prove what happened. Important evidence often disappears long before the filing deadline expires. For example:

• Surveillance video may be overwritten under the park’s normal retention schedule.
• Maintenance and inspection records may become more difficult to obtain.
• Witnesses’ memories can fade, or they may become difficult to locate.
• Physical conditions at the trampoline park may change after repairs or renovations.

Start investigating a potential claim right after an accident. Evidence is usually strongest then. Taking prompt action helps preserve key evidence. It also provides a clearer view of what caused the injury before important details fade.

Can I Sue A Trampoline Park If I Signed A Waiver?

Signing a waiver at a trampoline park doesn’t stop you from filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Under California law, a well-drafted waiver can cover some ordinary negligence claims. However, it does not protect the park from liability for gross negligence.

Gross negligence is more than an ordinary mistake. Depending on the facts, conduct that may support a gross-negligence claim includes:

• Knowingly allowing broken or unsafe equipment to remain in use.
• Ignoring repeated reports of dangerous conditions.
• Failing to address obvious safety hazards that put guests at risk.

The primary assumption of risk doctrine can reduce claims arising from recreational jumping. This includes some claims related to the premises. When you sign a waiver, you recognize the usual risks of trampoline activities. Accepting those inherent risks differs from accepting risks that the park introduced unfairly. Even when the primary-assumption-of-risk doctrine applies, the park generally has a duty not to increase the activity’s inherent risks.

A waiver might not be enforceable if its wording or presentation fails to show the rights clearly being released. Courts may consider whether:

• The language clearly and unambiguously described the claims being released.
• The release was sufficiently conspicuous.
• The injury and alleged negligence fell within the waiver’s scope.
• Enforcing the waiver would violate public policy.

If a court determines that a waiver is unenforceable, the case shifts away from the paperwork and toward the park’s conduct. The trampoline park may have to explain:

• The park’s equipment maintenance practices.
• The inspections it performed.
• The safety measures it had in place.
• Any known hazards that it failed to address before the injury occurred.

A waiver may limit or defeat some claims, but its effect depends on how the accident happened, what the document says, and what the park did.

What If A Trampoline Park Employee Is Injured?

An employee injured while supervising guests, maintaining equipment, cleaning the facility, or performing another job duty may qualify for California workers’ compensation benefits. At a trampoline park, these injuries may occur when employees:

• Check and maintain the trampolines each day before the park opens. Look at the spring tension and ensure the frames are tight.
• Interact with guests on the trampoline.
• Get on a trampoline when someone gets hurt, gets stuck, or breaks a rule.

State law requires employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This helps injured employees get benefits for medical treatment. It also covers some lost wages, temporary or permanent disability, and job retraining if needed. They can do so without proving fault. In exchange, they generally cannot directly sue their employer for the injury.

To maintain workers’ comp eligibility, the employee must report the injury to a supervisor immediately. Then, they should request a DWC-1 claim form. An injured employee might have a third-party personal injury claim. This applies if someone not connected to the trampoline park caused the accident.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trampoline Park Injuries

California trampoline park injury cases come with legal steps most people have never heard of, including a court process that protects a child’s settlement money. Understanding how park liability and legal costs work can help you make confident decisions. These answers address the questions parents ask most after a child is hurt.

What If My Child Was Injured At A Trampoline Park?

A minor cannot conduct a lawsuit alone. A parent, guardian, or another suitable adult generally asks the court to appoint them as a guardian ad litem to act on behalf of the child. If a settlement is reached, California law requires a process called a Minor’s Compromise.

A judge must approve the settlement and decide how the child’s net proceeds will be protected. Depending on the case, the court may use a blocked account, structured settlement, guardianship, trust, or another authorized arrangement, and withdrawals before age 18 generally require court approval.

Are Trampoline Parks Safer Than Home Trampolines?

Not necessarily. A 2022 systematic review found that children injured at trampoline parks had higher odds of severe injuries and surgery than those injured on home trampolines. However, the research does not prove that every park visit is more dangerous or that any single feature, such as larger mats or more jumpers, caused the increased risk.

Can I Sue A Trampoline Park If Another Jumper Caused My Injury?

You may have a claim against the park, the other jumper, or both. It depends on whether the park failed to control an unsafe situation or the other person acted recklessly. Under California premises liability law, parks are responsible for maintaining a safe environment. Depending on the activity and the park’s own safety procedures, reasonable supervision may include separating participants by size, age, or skill level. If a staff member lets an adult into a zone meant for small children and your child is hurt, the park can be held liable, meaning legally responsible.

You may also have a claim against another jumper if that person intentionally injured you or acted so recklessly that the conduct fell outside the ordinary risks of trampoline jumping. If so, they may be liable for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. However, ordinary mistakes or careless movements inherent in the activity may not be sufficient to establish liability.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire An Attorney For A Trampoline Park Case?

The cost depends on the complexity of your case and whether it proceeds to trial. If you’re concerned about upfront legal fees, many personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no attorney’s fees unless your attorney successfully recovers compensation on your behalf.

If you hire an attorney, you will receive a written fee agreement before work begins. It will show the exact percentage the attorney earns if your case succeeds. Your situation is unique, and a personalized review of your case is the best way to understand your options.

Injured At A Trampoline Park In California? Get The Help You Deserve

Your child got hurt at a trampoline park. Now you’re dealing with medical bills, missed work, and a stack of confusing paperwork. You deserve someone in your corner who will act fast.

A trampoline accident lawyer can investigate the accident, identify potentially responsible parties, and handle the procedural requirements of a child’s claim. At Arash Law (also known as AK Law), our attorneys can gather evidence before it disappears and pursue the maximum compensation available under the law for your case.

You don’t have to figure this out on your own. Call us at (888) 488-1391 for a free initial consultation. We take cases on a contingency fee basis, so you don’t pay attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you. Reach out today, and we can discuss how we can help your family.