Trampoline Park Accidents in Georgia

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At a trampoline park, the legal questions after an injury are what care the park owed its customers, how far any signed release reaches, and, when the person hurt is a child, what care the child was expected to use and how long there is to bring the claim.

The Park’s Duty to Its Customers

An owner or occupier of land who invites others onto the premises for a lawful purpose is liable for injuries caused by a failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe (OCGA 51-3-1).

How Trampoline Injuries Happen

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s trampoline safety publication lists the ways injuries and deaths occur: colliding with another person on the trampoline, landing improperly while jumping or doing stunts, falling or jumping off the trampoline, and falling on the springs or frame. Among the steps it recommends are allowing only one person on a trampoline at a time, using shock-absorbing pads that completely cover the springs, hooks, and frame, and supervising children. The publication is addressed to families rather than written as a standard for parks, but the hazards it names, such as collisions between jumpers and exposed frames, are the kinds of conditions that a park’s court rules, padding, and staffing records can show whether it guarded against.

What a Signed Release Can and Cannot Do

A signed release reaches a business’s ordinary negligence, not its gross negligence or wilful misconduct. In McFann v. Sky Warriors, Inc., 268 Ga. App. 750 (2004), two pilots had signed agreements releasing an aircraft rental business from liability before a simulated combat flight in which a wing separated. The Court of Appeals, quoting an earlier decision, described exculpatory clauses as valid and binding when a business relieves itself from its own negligence, and it held that a party cannot contract away liability for its own gross negligence or wilful misconduct, leaving to a jury whether the business had reached that level of culpability. McFann involved adult pilots, not a child or a parent’s signature.

A Child’s Conduct

When the person hurt is a child of tender years, the due care expected of the child is the care the child’s mental and physical capacities enable the child to exercise in the actual circumstances (OCGA 51-1-5). Fault that is assigned to a plaintiff reduces the damages, and a plaintiff 50 percent or more responsible recovers nothing (OCGA 51-12-33(a), (g)).

Frequently Asked Questions

When must a child’s claim be filed?
A person under 18 when the claim accrues has the same time after turning 18 as others have, except as OCGA 9-3-33.1 provides (OCGA 9-3-90(b)), and the period for injuries to the person is two years (OCGA 9-3-33).

Does the parent’s claim for the child’s medical bills get the same extension?
The Court of Appeals has treated it differently. In Brent v. Hin, 561 S.E.2d 212 (Ga. Ct. App. 2002), it explained that the right to recover a minor’s medical expenses belongs to the parents and described its earlier decision in Mitchell v. Hamilton, 228 Ga. App. 850 (1997), in which the two-year period for personal injury barred a mother’s claim for a daughter’s medical expenses.

What injuries does CPSC associate with trampoline use?
Its safety publication names paralysis, fractures, sprains, and bruises among the serious injuries its recommendations aim to prevent, and it warns against somersaults because landing on the head or neck can cause paralysis.

  • OCGA 51-3-1; OCGA 51-1-5; OCGA 51-12-33(a), (g)
  • U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “Trampoline Safety” (Publication 085)
  • McFann v. Sky Warriors, Inc., 268 Ga. App. 750 (2004)
  • OCGA 9-3-33; OCGA 9-3-90(b); OCGA 9-3-33.1
  • Brent v. Hin, 561 S.E.2d 212 (Ga. Ct. App. 2002), describing Mitchell v. Hamilton, 228 Ga. App. 850 (1997)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about the Georgia rules that bear on trampoline park injuries. It is not legal or medical advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The effect of a release depends on its terms, on who signed it, and on the facts, and deadlines for a minor’s claim depend on the date of injury. Anyone injured at a trampoline park should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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