Although they are very popular among children, a recent study indicates that bounce houses can be very dangerous, causing serious injuries to children. Based on data collected across the country, researchers estimate as many as 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts, and concussions from bounce house accidents. Frequent injuries involve children falling inside or outside of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing children.
In 2010, there were nearly 11,000 emergency-room visits for children aged 17 and younger who were injured in bounce house accidents. That number had doubled since 2008. More than one-third of the injuries were in children younger than five years old. The study did not include deaths, though there have been fatalities associated with bounce house injuries. Four bounce house deaths occurred from 2003 to 2007, all of which involved children striking their heads on a hard surface, according to information collected by another source.
Personal Injury Lawyers Recommend Parents Use Caution to Avoid Injuries to Children at Bounce Houses
Bounce houses are typically found at amusement parks and fairs. However, it has become increasingly popular to rent or purchase the houses for home use. Still, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines. The agency says that banning children younger than that age from the small, home-use bounce houses would be a good idea.
Other recommendations for use of bounce houses to avoid injuries to children include not overloading the bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults. Industry safety groups also say bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others.
Personal Injury Lawyers in Philadelphia and New Jersey
The Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at Messa & Associates have experience with cases involving injuries to children. Our extremely skilled team of personal injury lawyers and medical experts is dedicated to ensuring you receive proper compensation for your personal injuries. If your child has suffered a serious injury at a bounce house, playground, daycare or has endured any other type of personal injury, contact the personal injury lawyers of Messa & Associates for a free consultation. Call toll free at 1-877-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry.