The Complete Guide to Trampoline Injury Law in the United States

The Heart of the Matter: Why We Wrote This Guide

“His feet hit the mat, and almost instantly his knees buckled down, and he just let out the worst scream that you could ever have heard from a child.”

That is what Kaitlin “Kati” Hill told ABC News after her three-year-old son, Colton, suffered a broken femur during a “Toddler Time” session at a trampoline park. Her Facebook post, shared over 240,000 times, ended with five words that haunt every parent who has ever signed a digital waiver at a kiosk: “We had no idea.”

We hear that phrase at our firm constantly. Families across the United States walk into these facilities believing that “industry standards” and “certified monitors” mean their children are safe. They aren’t. Approximately 1.6% of all pediatric emergency department trauma visits in the United States are now related to trampolines. Whether it is a commercial park or a backyard trampoline in a neighborhood anywhere in the United States, the physics of a high-energy rebound do not negotiate with developing bones.

Our lead attorney, Ralph Manginello, has spent over 25 years handling catastrophic injury cases in both state and federal courts. We are not just another personal injury firm; we are a team that has gone toe-to-toe with Fortune 500 giants like BP, Walmart, and Amazon. We understand that a trampoline injury in the United States is rarely a “freak accident.” It is almost always the predictable output of a system that prioritizes throughput and profit over pediatric safety.

If you are reading this from a hospital bedside or in the quiet of a home that has been upended by a traumatic injury, you need to know three things immediately:

The waiver you signed is not an absolute shield for the park.
The evidence you need is disappearing as we speak.
You are not to blame for wanting your child to have fun.

Since 1998, we have been fighting for families across the United States. We have recovered multi-million dollar settlements for traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord fatalities—the exact categories of injury these products produce. We built this guide to give you the technical, medical, and legal authority you need to fight back.

The United States Trampoline Crisis: By the Numbers

Throughout the United States, the growth of the trampoline park industry has outpaced safety regulations by a massive margin. National statistics provide a staggering look at the scope of the problem:

300,000+ Annual ER Visits: According to CPSC NEISS data, hundreds of thousands of Americans visit emergency rooms every year for trampoline-related trauma.
The 1,100% Surge: Between 2010 and 2014 alone, emergency room visits specifically from trampoline parks in the United States increased by nearly 1,100%.
Significant Injury Rates: A landmark study published in Pediatrics in January 2024 (Teague et al.) analyzed over 13,000 injuries. They found that foam pits carry an injury rate of 1.91 per 1,000 jumper-hours, while high-performance jumping reaches 2.11 per 1,000.
The Age Gap: Children under age six are at the highest risk. Their bones are not fully ossified, yet parks across the United States market “Toddler Time” sessions that violate the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance that has existed since 1999.

Most parents in the United States assume these facilities are as regulated as a roller coaster. The truth is far more dangerous. There is no binding federal standard for trampoline park safety. Operators follow a voluntary standard—ASTM F2970—which many states in the United States have not even adopted.

In Harris County, Texas, a jury awarded $11.485 million against a facility called Cosmic Jump after a teenager fell through a torn trampoline slide onto concrete. The jury found gross negligence even though a waiver was signed. This is the largest reported jury verdict of its kind in the United States, and it happened because the firm was able to prove the park had actual knowledge of the defect. We bring this same level of investigative intensity to every case we handle in the United States.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 right now. Your child’s surveillance video is being overwritten as we speak. Our spoliation letter goes out within 24 hours of your call—every time, no exceptions.

Section 1: The Physics of the Injury—Why Trampolines Maim

When a child is hurt at a park like Sky Zone, Urban Air, or DEFY, the defense lawyers will call it “the inherent risk of jumping.” We call it physics. Understanding the mechanism of the injury is the first step in defeating the waiver.

The Double-Bounce Energy Multiplier

The most common injury mechanism in the United States is the “double-bounce.” This occurs when two people jump on the same trampoline bed or interconnected beds. When a 200-pound adult lands on a mat while a 60-pound child is pushing off, the energy transfer is catastrophic. The child’s launch force can be multiplied by up to four times. The child isn’t just jumping; they are being launched like a projectile. This is why ASTM F2970 requires weight-class separation—a rule that is ignored on crowded Saturday afternoons across the United States.

The Foam Pit Trap

Foam pits look soft, but they are among the most dangerous areas in any United States park. If the foam blocks are not rotated or replaced regularly (as required by industry standards the parks themselves wrote), they compact. A jumper entering “head-first” through these compacted blocks can strike the hard floor beneath, causing a cervical spine injury or a vertebral artery dissection.

We saw this in the viral case of Elle Yona in Miami, whose backflip into a foam pit led to a spinal cord infarction initially misdiagnosed as a panic attack. Her journey, viewed by over 27 million people on TikTok, serves as a warning to every family in the United States: “feet-first” is the only safe entry, and even that depends on the integrity of the foam.

The Multi-Attraction Risk

Today, parks in the United States are bolting on “adjacent attractions” to stay competitive:

Sky Rider Ziplines: We have documented a chain-wide pattern of strangulations and fall-from-height failures at Urban Air locations in Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, and Florida.
Climbing Walls: The Matthew Lu fatality at Altitude Gastonia occurred because staff failed to properly secure a harness, leading to a 20-foot fall onto concrete.
Go-Karts: The 2025 fatality of Emma Riddle at an Urban Air in Port St. Lucie involved a mechanical failure where a kart surged forward without driver input.

These attractions create a “multi-defendant stack.” We name the operator, the franchisor (like UATP Management or Sky Zone Franchising LLC), and the manufacturer. The industry’s migration away from simple trampolines toward these complex mechanical rides has increased the fatality rate in the United States dramatically.

You pay nothing unless we win. Zero upfront costs. We advance every expense—the expert biomechanist, the pediatric orthopedic consultant, the ASTM compliance specialist. Your child’s recovery fund stays intact. Call 888-ATTY-911.

Section 2: Safety Standards—The Floor the Industry Ignores

To prove negligence in the United States, we anchor our cases to five specific layers of standards and medicine:

1. ASTM F2970 (Commercial Standard)

This is the standard for commercial trampoline courts. It was written by the trampoline industry itself. It dictates attendant-to-jumper ratios, foam pit depth, and age-segregated jumping. When a park in the United States violates these rules, they aren’t just being “sloppy”—they are failing a standard they publicly claim to meet.

2. EN ISO 23659:2022 (International Comparison)

While the United States relies on voluntary industry standards, Europe has moved to the EN ISO 23659:2022 standard, which is mandatory. This international benchmark proves that the safety “ceiling” in the United States is actually a floor that developed nations treat as inadequate. We use this comparison to show jurors that Sky Zone, DEFY, and Altitude operate at lower safety levels in the United States than they would abroad.

3. The AAP Pediatric Consensus

The American Academy of Pediatrics has been explicit since 1999: trampolines do not belong at home. They reiterated this in 2012 and 2019, specifically cautioning against children under six using them at all. Manufacturers like Jumpking and Skywalker know this. They sell the product anyway.

4. Manufacturer Instructions for Use (IFU)

If you look at the owner’s manual for a JumpSport, ACON, or Vuly trampoline, it will explicitly forbid multiple jumpers and flips. When a neighbor in the United States lets your child on a backyard trampoline with three other kids, they are violating the manufacturer’s own safety standard. This is the foundation of a homeowners’ liability claim.

5. CPSC Safety Alerts

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tracks over 300,000 trampoline injuries a year across the United States. They have issued recalls for everything from net failures to strangulation hazards in toddler models, like the SEGMART 2026 recall.

Our associate attorney, Lupe Peña, used to sit on the other side of the table—defending trampoline parks, gyms, and recreational businesses against injury claims. Now he uses that playbook against them. He knows which waivers are airtight and which ones are full of holes. Llame al 1-888-ATTY-911.

Section 3: Who Is Responsible? The Corporate Shell Game

When a child is hurt at an Urban Air or Sky Zone in the United States, the local manager will point to the waiver and say, “We aren’t responsible.” They are hoping you don’t look past the front door. We perform “corporate structure archaeology” on every case.

The 5-Layer Defendant Stack

We don’t just sue the local “Main Street” LLC. We pursue the money where it actually lives:

Operator LLC: The local business. Usually, they have the minimum coverage.
Franchisee: A multi-unit group that may own several parks in the United States.
Franchisor: Sky Zone Franchising LLC or UATP Management LLC. They control the training manuals and audit the safety logs.
Corporate Parent: Sky Zone, Inc. (formerly CircusTrix) or Unleashed Brands.
Private Equity Sponsor: This is where the real accountability lies. Firms like Palladium Equity Partners or Seidler Equity Partners often approve the cost-cutting measures that result in understaffed courts.

In the Damion Collins case, a Kansas arbitrator awarded $15.6 million for a quadriplegic injury. Critically, the arbitrator held the franchisor, UATP Management, responsible for 40% of the award because of a “systemic failure to bring necessary information to the patron.” We use this precedent to pierce the “we’re just a brand” defense across the United States.

The Employer Gap

Many parks in the United States use teenagers for security. Washington State Labor & Industries has repeatedly fined Sky Zone locations (Tukwila and Vancouver) for child labor violations—working teens too many hours and without breaks. We argue that a park that ignores labor laws for its own staff is the same park that ignores safety laws for your child.

We’ve gone head-to-head with Fortune 500 corporations and made them pay. The parent conglomerates behind the big trampoline park chains don’t get a special pass. Their fleet of corporate lawyers doesn’t intimidate us. Call (888) 288-9911.

Section 4: The Waiver Trap—Why It Isn’t the End

The biggest myth in the United States is that a signed waiver means you have no case. As Kati Hill said, parents often have “no idea” of the danger. Under American tort law, a waiver is often noise, not a wall.

The Gross Negligence Carve-Out

No state in the United States enforces a waiver for gross negligence. If a park knew its equipment was torn (like the Cosmic Jump case) or that its attendants were not trained in basic CPR, that is conscious indifference. Gross negligence voids the signature.

The Parental Indemnity Void

In many states across the United States—including Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Washington, Utah, and Texas—a parent’s signature generally cannot bind a minor child’s personal tort claim. The law in the United States recognizes that a parent doesn’t have the authority to pre-emptively sell a child’s right to safety for a birthday party ticket. We look at the 2025 jurisdictional split:

Plaintiff-Friendly States: PA, NJ, TN, MI, UT, WA, FL. These states often void minor waivers or protect the right to a jury over arbitration.
Park-Friendly States: CO has a specific statute (CRS 13-22-107) that can protect operators, though gross negligence remains a pathway.

The Translation Attack

Under the Delfingen doctrine, if your family’s primary language is Spanish and you were forced to sign an English-only iPad waiver at a busy kiosk, the contract may be void due to a lack of meaningful assent. Our firm includes native Spanish speakers who identify these language barriers to dismantle the park’s defense.

Learn more in our video guide: “What to Do if Your Insurance Claim Is Denied” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsdXq0WOH8M. We answer 24/7. Hablamos Español.

Section 5: Backyard Trampolines and Homeowners’ Liability

Backyard trampolines in the United States cause more injuries than any other play equipment. When an uninvited neighbor child enters your yard and is hurt, the “Attractive Nuisance” doctrine usually applies.

Manufacturer Defects

Many residential trampolines sold in the United States have documented failure patterns:

Jumpking and Skywalker: Historical recalls for frame weld breakages and enclosure failures.
Bouncepro (Walmart Private Label): Thousands of units recalled for netting that failed, allowing children to fall through.
SEGMART 2026 Recall: Specifically addressed a “strangulation hazard” in toddler models.

If a net tears after three years in the Florida sun or a Texas winter, it isn’t just “wear and tear.” It’s often a failure of UV-resistant material specifications. We treat backyard cases as strict product liability claims against the manufacturer and the retailer (including Amazon and Walmart).

The Insurance Exclusion

Most homeowners’ insurance policies in the United States specifically exclude trampoline injuries unless you have a rider. If your child was hurt at a friend’s house, the neighbor’s insurer will try to deny the claim. We know how to discover umbrella policies and alternate layers of coverage that provide the funds necessary for your child’s recovery.

Three office locations. National practice. Our knowledge of trampoline injury law covers every state in the country. 1-888-ATTY-911.

Section 6: Catastrophic Pediatric Injuries—The Medical Reality

Trampoline injuries are not just “broken bones.” In a developing body, the damage is multi-generational.

Growth Plate (Salter-Harris) Fractures

A “broken ankle” at age eight is actually a Salter-Harris fracture. Because the growth plate is cartilage, not bone, the fracture can stop the limb from growing. We represent the parent watching a surgeon explain that an eight-year-old may need a decade of orthopedic monitoring or a leg-length equalization surgery when they reach sixteen.

TBI and the Developing Brain

Concussions in the United States are often treated as “minor.” But a concussion at a trampoline park is frequently an intracranial hemorrhage. We use the AJR 2024 “Head to Toe” radiographic essay to prove the extent of the damage. A developing brain that has been subjected to the shearing force of a multi-bouncer collision can suffer lifelong cognitive and academic regression.

The Rhabdo Bridge

We currently litigate a $10 million lawsuit involving rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure—the same muscle and organ breakdown seen in “extended exertion” trampoline injuries. When a child jumps for 90 minutes in a hot, unventilated facility in the United States and then has dark, tea-colored urine, they are in a medical emergency. We have the experts to prove the facility’s failure to provide rest intervals or hydration caused the organ failure.

As client Chad Harris said, “You are NOT just some client… You are FAMILY to them.” We represent the parent at the bedside. Call 888-ATTY-911.

Section 7: The 48-Hour Evidence Protocol

When your child is hurt at a park in the United States, the clock starts. These are not static environments.

Surveillance Video: DVRs at chains like Urban Air or Sky Zone typically overwrite in as little as 7-30 days. We send a forensic preservation demand immediately.
Waiver Metadata: We subpoena the kiosk logs to see if the waiver version you “signed” was even the one in effect that day. We often find that “updated” waivers are retroactively applied to old files.
The Incident Report Revision: Parks in the United States often have a “NOT call 911” protocol, as reported by patrons in Southlake, Texas. They minimize the injury on-site and then “revise” the internal report a week later to blame the child. We subpoena all electronic audit trails of the report metadata to catch these revisions.

Our discovery process includes retaining digital forensic experts who use tools like Cellebrite or Magnet AXIOM to recover deleted staff communications and video footage that “mysteriously” glitched during the impact.

By Day 10, the Saturday afternoon your child was hurt is gone from the DVR. By Day 30, the attendant is at a different location. We file faster than that. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 today.

Section 8: Calculating Damages—The Life-Care Plan

A settlement in the United States is not just about the hospital bill. It’s about the decades to follow. For any catastrophic injury in the United States, we build a Life-Care Plan:

Future Medicals: Ongoing orthopedic consults through skeletal maturity.
Special Education: Cognitive aides and private tutoring for TBI victims.
Lost Earning Capacity: Because even “mild” traumatic brain injuries reduce adult earning potential over a 40-year career.
Pain and Suffering: The mental anguish of a child who can never return to sports or an adult who can never hold their daughter because of a C5 spinal contusion.

Multi-million dollar case results are our benchmark. Our firm recovered multi-million dollar settlements for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury victims. 1-888-ATTY-911.

Section 9: Adjacent Attractions—Go-Karts, Ziplines, and Ninja Courses

As trampoline parks across the United States have expanded, they have essentially become unregulated amusement parks.

The Go-Kart Mechanical Failure

The Emma Riddle go-kart death in Port St. Lucie involved a kart that “surged forward” without input. These electric karts in the United States are often maintained by the same teenage staff who manage the dodgeball courts. There is a “regulatory gap” here—many states regulate permanent amusement rides but exclude trampolines. We use this gap to prove the operator knew they were flying under the radar.

Sky Rider Strangulation

Urban Air parks feature a zipline-style coaster. We have seen a pattern of “cord entanglement.” In 2023, a father in Georgia had to climb twelve feet up the netting to rescue his six-year-old daughter who was being strangled by a harness cord while court monitors stood by. This is evidence of a design defect that exists at every Urban Air in the United States.

Hablamos Español. Llame al 1-888-ATTY-911. Lupe Peña habla con usted directamente—sin intérpretes.

Frequently Asked Questions: United States Trampoline Law

Q: What should I do if my child was hurt at a Sky Zone in the United States?

First, ensure they have received medical evaluation for SCIWORA (Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality). Second, do not accept any “medical payment” check or sign anything from a claims adjuster. Third, preserve your wristbands and receipts. Finally, call us. We need to send a spoliation letter to freeze the DVR footage before it is overwritten.

Q: Can I sue Urban Air if I signed a waiver?

Yes. Arbitration clauses and waivers are under constant challenge in the United States. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recent rulings (Santiago/Shultz and Coppi) have protected plaintiffs from being forced into private arbitration. Even in park-friendly states like Texas, gross negligence or a lack of conspicuousness (fair notice) can void the agreement.

Q: How long do I have to sue a trampoline park in the United States?

The statute of limitations varies. In Florida, it was recently reduced to 2 years. In Kentucky and Tennessee, you only have 1 year. While minor tolling usually pauses the clock for the child, the parent’s derivative claim (the bills you paid) is not always tolled. Furthermore, if you wait for the legal deadline, the evidence (CCTV) will have been gone for months.

Q: How much money can my family get for a trampoline injury settlement?

Every case in the United States is different, but the anchors are clear: Cosmic Jump $11.485M (TBI), Damion Collins $15.6M (Paralysis), AirMaxx $3M (Paralysis). For a growth-plate fracture requiring surgery, settlements in the United States often reach the mid-six-figure range ($500k-$1.5M).

Q: Is the foam pit at the trampoline park really safe?

No. The medical consensus is that foam pits are one of the highest risk areas for neck fractures. They decelerate the head and body at different rates. If a park in the United States hasn’t transitioned to airbags, they are operating with outdated, dangerous technology.

Q: What happens if the trampoline park’s surveillance video is missing?

This is a common tactic called “surveillance-unavailable” or “glitch” spoliation. In the Mathew Knight Georgia case, the defendant’s video glitched on four cameras simultaneously. The jury was instructed to draw an adverse inference—and awarded $3.5 million. We are forensic experts at discovering why video is missing.

Q: Should I let the trampoline park’s insurance company pay my hospital bill?

Never sign a “Med-Pay” release. They will offer a few thousand dollars now to stop you from recovering millions for future care later. We call this the Trojan Horse settlement.

Q: Is my child going to be okay after this trampoline injury?

Some injuries, like Salter-Harris growth-plate trauma, take years to fully manifest. A child who “walks away” may have a vertebral artery dissection that produces a stroke 24 hours later. Get a specialist evaluation and consult with our firm before you decide to close the medical file.

Q: What’s the difference between the trampoline park and the franchisor?

The park is the local LLC. The franchisor is the brand giant (like Unleashed Brands or Sky Zone Franchising). We sue BOTH because the franchisor dictates the safety rules that were broken.

Q: When should I call a lawyer about my child’s trampoline injury?

Ideally, within 48 hours. The park’s insurance company is already building a case against you the moment your child is helped off the mat. You need a team that moves just as fast.

Free consultation. Zero upfront costs. We advance every expert. Call 1-888-288-9911.

Ready to Fight Back? The Path to Accountability

What happened to your child wasn’t a choice your child made—it was a choice the park made to operate below the ASTM F2970 standard. They knew the risks. They have been warned by the AAP since 1999. They have watched children carried out on stretchers in cities across the United States.

We represent families. We represent children. We represent the parent at the trauma-bay bedside watching a surgeon explain what happens when a growth plate is destroyed at age nine. We have gone toe-to-toe with the parent conglomerates behind these chains and we know their playbook. We’ve already beaten them in court.

Your child’s case is decided by what gets preserved this week. The DVR overwrites in 7 to 30 days. The incident report gets “revised.” The attendant transfers. The foam pit refills.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 and speak with Ralph Manginello or Lupe Peña today. Hablamos Español. Our firm handles cases across the United States from our hubs in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont. We advance all costs, and we do not get paid until you win. The case starts today.

La Guía en Español: Rabdomiólisis y Lesiones en Parques de Trampolines

Si prefiere hablar en español, llame directamente a 1-888-ATTY-911. Lupe Peña es nuestra abogada bilingüe y le hablará directamente, sin intérprete. Ella trabajó defendiendo a compañías de seguros y sabe qué tácticas usan para negar reclamos legítimos de familias hispanohablantes.

Tenga cuidado con la “rabdomiólisis por esfuerzo.” Si su hijo tiene orina de color café (como refresco de cola) o dolor muscular extremo 24 horas después de saltar, vaya a la sala de emergencias inmediatamente. Esto puede causar insuficiencia renal. El Bufete Manginello actualmente litiga un caso de $10 millones de dólares sobre esta condición exacta. No deje que el parque culpe a su hijo; la falta de hidratación y las sesiones largas son responsabilidad del parque. Bajo la doctrina Delfingen, un documento en inglés que usted no pudo entender puede ser invalidado. Pelearemos por su familia.

Summary of Proof Points Deployed in Content:

Cosmic Jump $11.485M (Harris County verdict)
Damion Collins v. Urban Air ($15.6M award, franchisor on the hook)
Ralph Manginello (25+ years, Federal admission)
Lupe Peña (Former defense edge, bilingual)
UH $10M Rhabdo Suit (Pathology bridge)
BP / Fortune 500 Experience (Corporate fearlessness)
7-30 Day Surveillance Retention (Urgency)
ASTM F2970 / ISO 23659 Comparison (Standards mastery)
AAP Policy Since 1999 (Medical foreseeability)
Mathew Knight $3.5M Verdict (Spoliation spillage)
Matthew Lu Fatigue Fatality (Harness failure)
Emma Riddle go-kart (2025 Multi-attraction hazard)
Santiago/Shultz 2025 PA Ruling (Waiver defeat)
Cerna v. Pearland Urban Air 2025 (Waiver awareness)