Woman who broke ankle at trampoline park settles with venue

A woman who suffered injury at a Kansas trampoline park will take home a $1 million settlement, according to the attorney in the case.

“Unfortunately, we see these types of injuries pretty frequently now,” said Tim Kingsbury of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, which represented the plaintiff.

Kingsbury said the young mother was using the attraction with her son when she broke an ankle. The injury occurred when she was jumping off the trampoline bed onto the matting around the edge, which she did not know was dangerous to land on.

He said no staff were nearby to inform her of the issue.

“The evidence showed that they were required under ASTM and an internal rule to have someone continuously monitoring the court so that if someone like my client was doing something like landing on the mat, they could correct them,” he said.

He also said the trampolines were unstable and in need of replacement which contributed to the accident that left his client with a compound fracture.

“She was trying to get off the attraction and, as she was jumping, she lost her balance because of the instability of the trampoline bed,” he said.

Kingsbury said that the defense argued that risk of harm is inherent to the use of a trampoline. He indicated that, while there was no dispute as to the extent of injury, comparative fault likely would have been argued had the case advanced to trial.

Parties in the matter, which was resolved with a policy limits settlement, were kept confidential.

Kingsbury said that the design and interconnected nature of the trampolines at these facilities make them quite different from standard residential trampolines. He said there was some warning signage in place but noted that such messages are typically designed more to protect the company from litigation than the patron from injury.

“There are a whole bunch of reasons why these warning signs are completely inadequate.” he said.

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$1 million settlement

Personal injury

Venue: Confidential

Case Number/Date: Confidential

Injuries: The plaintiff sustained a comminuted pilon fracture of the distal tibia—an injury involving a shattered tibia at the ankle joint along with an associated fibula fracture. The injuries required multiple surgical interventions and a period of restricted mobility.

Caption: Confidential

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Tim Kingsbury and Colin McClain of Humphrey Farrington & McClain

Defendants’ Attorneys: Confidential