Bounce House Accidents Leading to Child Injuries: Safety Tips for Parents and Caregivers

Bounce houses can be tremendous fun, but also quite dangerous for your kids.

In fact, in just the last month, two bounce house accidents resulting in child injuries have made national news. In both incidents, a sudden gust of wind lifted and carried away the inflatable house where the children were playing.

Thinking about having a bounce house at your next party? It can be fun for the kids, but safety comes first. Before making any arrangements, please consider the following tips.

1. Make Sure the Bounce House is Secure

Recent incidents, occurring less than a month apart, highlight how dangerous bounce houses can be when people do not secure them properly. In New York, two young boys were hospitalized with serious injuries after the bounce house they were playing in was blown upward by wind, eventually dropping them at least 15 feet to the ground.

And even more recently in Denver, an inflatable “bouncy slide” was blown across a lacrosse field, injuring two children.

2. An Adult Supervisor Should Be Present at All Times

At least one adult should be present when children are in or near a bounce house, as an injury can occur at a moment’s notice. Every year, bounce houses cause several thousand injuries, and most of these incidents are not the result of natural events.

3. Do Not Ignore Warning Signs and Labels on Bounce Houses

It can be very tempting to blame manufacturers for any bounce house injuries, but many of these accidents occur because adults fail to read the warning labels. Now, if the warning labels happened to be defective, then there could be grounds to sue the manufacturer.

4. Waivers Can’t Hurt

Is your child having a birthday bash that will feature a bounce house or other inflatable toy? You may want to consider having parents of children that will be attending the party sign a liability waiver before they can play in the bounce house. This is just an added precaution that could help you ward off any personal injury lawsuits.

5. If Injured, Know Who Could Face Liability

If your child gets injured while playing in a bounce house, take the time to investigate who may be liable. Property owners with a bounce house on their land may be responsible for any injuries that occur on-site under premises liability theory. If a private company provides the bounce house, that company and its employees could be held responsible for any accidents resulting from negligence. If a defect with the bounce house caused a child injury, then the manufacturer could be legally liable for damages.

Bounce houses can be enjoyable for children and can remain safe when adults exercise caution. Unfortunately, sometimes injuries are unavoidable. If your child has been injured in a bounce house accident in Spring Hill or Brooksville, please call a Hernando County Injury Lawyer at Whittel & Melton today at 352-666-2121 for a free and confidential appointment.