The family of a seven year old boy from Naugatuck secured a $65,000 settlement after their son was injured using a neighbors Hedstrom trampoline.
The seven year-old child fractured his arm requiring it to be set, but fortunately he recovered without any permanent injuries from the accident. Trampoline injuries are extremely common and some injuries can be very serious, sometimes fatal.
Donald McPherson of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, an outstanding gymnastics/trampoline national expert who has testified in over 400 trampoline/gymnastics cases, was hired by the family of the injured boy to offer testimony on the standard of care placed on trampoline owners.
He opined that in that case the homeowner violated the “one jumper at a time” rule, allowing four jumpers. There were too many jumpers causing trampoline reverberation, there was no supervised trained gymnastics expert monitoring the child and multiple jumpers caused convergence in the center of the trampoline. Trampoline manufacturers place use warnings on the trampolines which provide notice to the homeowners of safety use standards.
In Connecticut a land possessor has a duty to safeguard children from danger from a structure or artificial condition on the premises. If a child can’t comprehend the risk of harm and the condition poses an unreasonable risk of harm to a child, the land possessor must protect the child using reasonable care to eliminate the danger.
It is important to recognize many homeowner liability policies exclude coverage for trampoline use.
–
At Maya Murphy, P.C., our experienced team of personal injury attorneys is dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their families and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury. Our personal injury attorneys assist clients in New York, Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, and throughout Fairfield County. If you have any questions relating to a personal injury claim or would like to schedule a free consultation, please contact our Westport office by phone at (203) 221-3100 or via e-mail at JMaya@Mayalaw.com