The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop Could Help Your Family Bounce Back After a Serious Trampoline Accident
Even compared to other adventurous forms of exercise and play, trampolines present an unusually high risk of serious injuries. Each year, parents learn first-hand how quickly minor lapses in safety can result in broken bones.
You don’t have to pay the price for a trampoline park’s poor practices or a family friend’s decision to let your child play on an old or poorly maintained trampoline.
The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop, PC, LLO, fights to protect the rights of parents, children, and families across Iowa and Nebraska. Here’s what you need to know about trampoline accidents and how personal injury lawyer Matt Lathrop can fight for the compensation you deserve.
Trampoline Fun and the Big Risk of Fractures
According to some reports, a significant percentage of all trampoline-related emergency room visits—more than a third!—involve broken or fractured bones.
The most common types of fractures include the following:
Arm and Forearm Fractures
The two bones comprising the forearm are likely to be broken in trampoline accidents.
Forearm fractures are typically categorized as either of the following:
- Fractures of the radius. The radius bone, or radial bone, is one of the two long bones of your forearm. Radial fractures are classified differently depending on where the bone has been broken, with “distal radius fractures” being the most common. These injuries are a common byproduct of traumatic sports accidents.
- Fractures of the ulna. The ulna is the other bone of the forearm. Fractures of both the ulna and radius can be caused by traumatic force—like a direct blow to the forearm—or by falling onto an outstretched arm.
Other arm bones, including the humerus, could also break.
Broken Legs and Feet
Children can break bones in their legs or feet after falling from a trampoline. Foot and leg fractures have two very distinct and very different causes: physical trauma, caused by colliding with the ground or another object, and unusual distributions of kinetic energy.
Trampoline Fractures
A “trampoline fracture” is a term used to describe a specific type of injury to the proximal tibia, or shin bone. Trampoline fractures sometimes occur when there are two or more children present on the same trampoline. If one child jumps with sufficient force at the same time another child is descending, the recoil from the trampoline surface can displace their shin bone.
3 Steps You Need to Take if Your Child Has Been Injured on a Trampoline
Trampoline-related injuries—especially serious injuries like fractured and broken bones—can affect families in many different ways, keeping children out of school and forcing their parents to spend out-of-pocket on high-priced medical care.
However, the laws of both Iowa and Nebraska provide an alternative to parting ways with your savings. If your child was injured in an accident that was not their fault, you may be entitled to recover compensation from the person who caused your child’s injuries.
You should protect your family’s rights to a fair recovery by taking the following steps:
1. Keep on Top of Medical Appointments
Insurance companies will sometimes try to limit their own liability by accusing parents of making an already bad situation even worse by failing to follow through on doctor’s orders. Staying on top of the situation could help pre-empt this common defense.
2. File a Formal Complaint
If you haven’t already, file a formal complaint or incident report with the trampoline park owner.
3. Contact an Experienced Trampoline Accident Lawyer
Even if you’ve already received an offer of settlement from a trampoline park owner or their insurance company, exercise a healthy level of skepticism and have a lawyer look over the agreement before signing away your rights to additional compensation.
The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop will not charge for a consultation, and we could help you negotiate a better deal.
Protecting Your Rights—And Your Family’s Finances—After an Accident
The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop, PC, LLO, understands that the cost of a broken bone goes beyond money. Even if you signed a liability waiver, our team could still help you file a claim for damages including, but not limited to, the following:
- The costs of your child’s outstanding hospital bills
- Your child’s anticipated medical care costs
- Physical rehabilitation fees and expenses
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Any income you lost while staying home to take care of your child or take them to and from doctor’s appointments
Neither Nebraska nor Iowa limit damages in most trampoline accident lawsuits, which means that your family could obtain as much money as you need to compensate you for your child’s injury.
However, you can’t afford to wait too long to contact an attorney. Personal injury claims are subject to strict statutes of limitations, and if you don’t take action now, you could lose your right to recover damages.
