The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reported that 52,103 children under the age of 15 were injured using trampolines and were treated in hospital emergency rooms in 1995. The cost of injuries to children injured while on a trampoline, in 1995 alone, was estimated at $272,600,000.00.
There are numerous lawsuits filed by severely injured users of trampolines. Many of these claims have been successfully resolved. The fact is that trampoline use is dangerous and can cause significant personal injuries or death.
Use of the trampoline by more than one child further increases the risk of injury through collisions among jumpers or the catapulting of jumpers off the trampoline. More than one user may cause a phenomenon termed the "rebound" effect. Experts agree that if one person is going up, the second coming down, the forward motion of the trampoline surface can be "harder than concrete" and cause fractures to the spine. In record numbers, kids continue to get hurt.
In 1996, the American Academy of Pediatricians recommended that trampolines should not be used at home, either indoors or outdoors, and should not be part of physical education classes. The Academy stated that the "risks are too great" and reported 83,400 trampoline related injuries in the United States for the year ending 1996.
Studies concerning the expectations of average consumers have been conducted. The data was compiled, in part by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. The results, in part, are as follows:
If you still want to take the risk, please provide constant and adequate supervision. Since warning of the dangers of using trampolines, I have received many e-mail's and telephone calls concerning trampoline owners obligations to protect the users of their trampoline. Although the law applicable to these cases may vary from state to state, I would suggest that you review JUMPKING, Inc's Owners Manual. JUMPKING is purportedly the largest manufacturer of trampolines in the United States. If you purchase your trampoline at Wal Mart, Sam's Club or any other mass merchant, there is a strong probability that you have purchased a JUMPKING product. If you own a JUMPKING product, the "Owners Role in Preventing Accidents", is located on page 4 and reproduced below:
"[I]t is the responsibility of the owner or other person responsible for the trampoline to:
What are the JUMPKING warnings and cautions that must be provided to a potential user? In part, JUMPKING requires that:
What if a trampoline owner cannot comply with the above responsibilities? Then JUMPKING mandates that:
This may require, during periods of time when supervision is unavailable or inadequate, that the trampoline be:
How safe is a product that even after a full disclosure of the warnings, cautions and rules are made, the trampoline MUST BE LOCKED UP, DISASSEMBLED or COVERED, if not supervised by an instructor (certified by the United States Gymnastics Federation) or other properly trained individual?
Despite the dangers presented by the use of the trampoline, are there other factors that affect whether you or your family member will be injured on a trampoline? The answer is yes! One on-line retailer (www.trampolinesales.com) suggests that many of the trampolines sold at mass merchants are of inferior craftsmanship and quality. Many trampolines found at mass merchants use a thinner gauge frame with thinner safety pads, and shorter springs. Most have none of the accessories needed to make a trampoline package complete!
Doehrman & Chamberlain
10333 North Meridian Street Suite 100
Indianapolis, Indiana 46290