Kids love bounce houses! … when diligence and good judgment prevail.
The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that over 10,000 kids per year visit U.S. emergency rooms as a result of bounce house encounters. One of the most common causes of injury is contact between two or more kids, leading to head trauma, fractures, lacerations, and soft-tissue damage.
Adult supervision is critical to preventing injuries. Keeping kids from getting overly rambunctious (e.g., dangerous flips, tricks, or horseplay), limiting the number of bounce house users at one time, making sure there aren’t big size disparities between participants, maintaining a clear entrance, and having children remove objects such as hair clips, jewelry, eyeglasses, and shoes are a few ways to enhance safety. In addition, if a bounce house suddenly deflates due to a puncture or mechanical malfunction, kids can suffocate quickly without immediate intervention.
Bounce house temperatures may be significantly higher than their surroundings. On a hot day, heat exhaustion and dehydration can strike quickly. Areas exposed to direct sunlight might cause burns as well.
Excessive wind (>15 mph) is another weather factor, jostling bounce houses and throwing kids off balance. Worse, winds can rip an occupied bounce house off the ground and send it hurtling, resulting in serious injuries and fatalities — same story, somewhere, every year. Bounce houses need to be securely anchored with long metal stakes and strong rope, away from trees and power lines. Keep close tabs on the weather, and shut things down immediately when there’s a threat.
If your child is injured due to bounce house negligence, contact our firm for skilled and thoughtful representation.
