“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 the voice of Kaitlin Hill, a mother who watched a Saturday afternoon of fun turn into a nightmare. We have heard echoes of that scream for over twenty-five years. Whether it happens at a birthday party at the Urban Air near New Braunfels or in a quiet backyard in a Schertz neighborhood off FM 3009, the sound is the same—the sound of a child’s life changing in two seconds.
We are Attorney911, led by Ralph Manginello, an attorney with more than 25 years of experience in the pursuit of justice for victims of catastrophic injury. We didn’t build our firm to handle run-of-the-mill accidents. We built it to take on multinational corporations like the parent companies of Sky Zone, Inc. and Unleashed Brands. When your eight-year-old is rushed to a Level 1 pediatric trauma center like University Hospital in San Antonio with a shattered tibia because an attendant was on his phone, you don’t need a lawyer who is “learning” this area of law. You need a team that can cite ASTM F2970 from memory and knows that in Texas, the waiver you signed at the kiosk is often not the shield the park thinks it is.
The Reality of Trampoline Injuries in Schertz
Across America, more than 300,000 trampoline-related ER visits occur every year. In a growing community like Schertz, which straddles Comal and Guadalupe counties, these aren’t just statistics. They are children in body casts and parents sitting in hospital waiting rooms. According to research published in the journal Pediatrics in January 2024 (Teague et al.), the injury rate at commercial trampoline parks is staggering—specifically 1.91 per 1,000 jumper-hours for foam pits.
In Schertz, our families are surrounded by these facilities. Whether you frequent the Rush Fun Park in Universal City, the Urban Air in New Braunfels, or the various Altitude and Sky Zone locations in the greater San Antonio metro, the business model is identical: high throughput, low overhead, and teenage “court monitors” with an average of only 2 to 4 hours of training.
What the marketing doesn’t tell you is that a trampoline injury is almost never a “freak accident.” It is the predictable output of a system designed to maximize margin at the expense of safety. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been warning against recreational trampoline use since 1999. The industry ignored those warnings and instead wrote its own voluntary standards. We have spent decades holding negligent institutions accountable, including our current litigation of a $10 million lawsuit involving rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure—the exact physiological breakdown we see in children who jump for ninety minutes in a heated facility without adequate hydration.
If you are reading this today, you likely have questions. You might feel guilty. You might think that signed waiver ended your case. We are here to tell you that the guilt doesn’t belong to you, and the waiver doesn’t belong in a court of law.
Part I: The Physics of the Double-Bounce and the Failure of ASTM F2970
The most common mechanism of injury we see in Schertz is the “double-bounce.” It happens when a 200-pound adult lands on a trampoline bed while a 60-pound child is pushing off. Physics doesn’t negotiate. That energy transfer can multiply the child’s launch force by up to four times. The child isn’t just jumping; they are being thrown.
This is exactly why the industry wrote its own safety standard, ASTM F2970. It requires parks to operationalize age and weight separation. When an Urban Air or a Sky Zone allows an adult to jump in the same zone as a toddler, they are violating the very rules their own peers wrote. In Texas, we have used these specific violations to prove gross negligence, an essential finding that can defeat any waiver and unlock punitive damages.
Why Commercial Foam Pits Are Not Safe
Fosos de espuma (foam pits) are advertised as soft landing spots. They are often anything but. A 2012 study by Eager in Sports Engineering documented the biomechanics of foam pit failures. If the foam is compacted—which happens when a park skips its weekly “fluffing” or fails to replace degraded cubes—the jumper hits the hard floor beneath.
A teenager in Houston, Max Menchaca, fell through a tear in a trampoline slide onto concrete at a facility called Cosmic Jump. Even though a waiver was signed, a Harris County jury returned a verdict of $11.485 million, including $6 million in punitive damages, because the park knew the equipment was torn and did nothing. That is the Texas anchor for our practice. We know that when a commercial facility in Schertz fails to maintain its equipment, a signed piece of paper is no excuse for a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Part II: The 5-Layer Defendant Stack — Going Upstream for Recovery
One of the most common mistakes local attorneys make in Schertz is only suing the local operator LLC. These entities are often undercapitalized by design. Our team, which includes a former insurance defense attorney like Lupe Peña, knows the corporate archeology of this industry. We don’t just look at the local park. We pierce the stack:
- The Operator LLC: The immediate business on the lease.
- The Franchisee: The multi-unit holding company that may own several Urban Air or Altitude locations.
- The Franchisor: Entities like Sky Zone Franchising LLC or UATP Management LLC. In the Damion Collins v. Urban Air arbitration, the franchisor absorbed 40% of a $15.6 million award because they failed to implement safety changes.
- The Parent Company: Sky Zone, Inc. (backed by Palladium Equity) or Unleashed Brands (backed by Seidler Equity).
- The Manufacturer: For backyard injuries in Schertz involving brands like Jumpking, Skywalker, or Springfree, or commercial component manufacturers like Ropes Courses, Inc., product liability is the primary weapon.
Because we have litigated against Fortune 500 giants like BP and Walmart, the private-equity-backed parents of these trampoline chains don’t intimidate us. We know their insurers have layers—primary, umbrella, and excess. We find every dollar available to ensure your child’s recovery fund is fully funded.
Part III: The Texas Legal Framework — Why the Waiver Is Not a Wall
If you signed a waiver at a park in Schertz, an insurance adjuster will likely call you and say your case is closed. Do not believe them. In Texas, our courts have built significant protections for families.
The Munoz Doctrine: Parent Waivers and Minors
The landmark case Munoz v. II Jaz Inc. established that in Texas, a parent generally cannot sign away a minor child’s personal cause of action. Even if you signed the iPad at the front desk, your child’s right to seek compensation for their injuries remains intact. We have used this doctrine in thousands of catastrophic injury analyses to keep the courtroom doors open for Schertz families.
The Dresser Fair Notice Rule
Texas law requires that for a waiver to be enforceable, it must meet the “Fair Notice” standard. Under Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum, the release must be conspicuous—meaning the text must be bold, in a different color, or set apart so that a reasonable person would see it. Many kiosk waivers at Schertz-area parks fail this test. If the text was buried in a twenty-page click-through, it may be a legal nullity.
Bilingual Formation Defeat (Delfingen)
Schertz and the greater San Antonio area have a rich Hispanic heritage. Under the doctrine of Delfingen US-Texas, L.P. v. Valenzuela, a waiver signed in English by a primary Spanish speaker who was not provided a translation can be found unenforceable. Lupe Peña, our native Spanish-speaking attorney, represents these families directly.
Si su familia habla español y firmó un documento que no entendió completamente, usted tiene derechos. No deje que el idioma sea una barrera para la justicia de su hijo. Llame al 1-888-ATTY-911.
Part IV: The Evidence Clock — The 48-Hour Protocol for Schertz Families
Evidence in trampoline cases vanishes on a schedule. The surveillance DVR at a Sky Zone or Urban Air in Schertz will likely overwrite its footage in as little as 7 to 30 days. Incident reports get “revised” on digital systems. Staff members transfer to different locations.
What We Demand Within 24 Hours
The moment you retain our firm, we send a forensic spoliation letter via certified mail. We demand the preservation of:
- All surveillance footage (multi-angle).
- Original incident reports with digital metadata.
- Attendant shift logs and training records.
- Daily ASTM F2970 inspection logs.
- The specific equipment that failed (e.g., the specific foam block or torn mat).
We don’t wait for “polite” requests. We use forensic tools and pre-suit petitions under Texas Rule 202 to capture evidence before it’s purged. If a park’s video “glitches” at the moments of injury, we point to cases like Mathew Knight in Georgia, where a jury awarded $3.5 million after cameras failed simultaneously during an incident.
Part V: Catastrophic Pediatric Injuries — More Than an ER Bill
A broken bone in an eight-year-old is not the same as a broken bone in an adult. We focus heavily on the long-term medical realities that Schertz parents face.
Salter-Harris Growth Plate Injuries
Many trampoline fractures occur at the physis, or growth plate. A Salter-Harris Type II fracture at age nine means the bone that should grow over the next decade might grow crooked or stop growing entirely. This can lead to limb-length discrepancy years after the “accident.” We work with pediatric orthopedic surgeons to build a Pediatric Life Care Plan (LCP) that captures these future surgical needs.
SCIWORA and Cervical Cord Trauma
Pediatric cervical spines are more mobile than adults. A child can suffer a spinal cord injury without a visible fracture on a CT scan. This is called SCIWORA. If your child was told they had a “panic attack” after a foam pit landing—like the viral case of Elle Yona in 2024—but they have persistent pain or tingling, they need an immediate neurological evaluation.
Rhabdomyolysis and the UH Case Bridge
Extended jumping for ninety minutes in a hot Schertz summer can trigger exertional rhabdomyolysis—a breakdown of muscle that releases myoglobin into the blood. This leads to acute kidney failure. Because we are currently litigating a $10 million haze-related rhabdo case against the University of Houston, we have the medical experts and the biochemical evidence pathways ready for any Schertz family facing this “silent” trampoline park emergency.
Part VI: Backyard Trampoline Dangers and Homeowner Liability
Not every injury happens at a commercial park. Many occur in backyards across Schertz. The attractive nuisance doctrine in Texas holds that a homeowner may be liable if an unfenced or unsecured trampoline attracts a neighbor’s child who then gets hurt.
Manufacturers like Jumpking, Skywalker, and Bouncepro (Walmart’s private label) have documented histories of CPSC recalls, often for breaking frame welds. If your child was injured by a product that was already under a recall notice, the manufacturer’s liability is strict. We also look for insurance exclusions. Many Schertz homeowners’ policies exclude trampolines, which is why we meticulously search for umbrella layers and product liability coverage for the manufacturer.
Part VII: Why Attorney911 Is the Choice for Schertz Families
When you call 1-888-ATTY-911, you aren’t just getting another personal injury firm. You are getting a team built for the corporate fight.
- Ralph Manginello brings 25+ years of federal court experience and a track record against Fortune 500 companies.
- Lupe Peña knows the defensive playbook because he used to write it for recreational businesses.
- Contingency is our Discipline: You pay nothing unless we win. We advance the costs for biomechanical engineers, pediatric specialists, and ASTM safety experts.
- 24/7 Availability: Accidents don’t wait for business hours. Neither do we.
As client Chad Harris said, “You are NOT just some client… You are FAMILY to them.” We treat your child’s case as if it were our own child’s future on the line.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What should I do if my child broke their leg at an Urban Air in Schertz?
Get immediate medical attention at a pediatric trauma center and do not sign any “incident follow-up” forms the park offers. These often contain hidden releases. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 immediately so we can send a spoliation letter before the surveillance video is overwritten in the next few days.
Can I sue if I signed the waiver?
Yes. In Texas, parents generally cannot waive a child’s direct claim, and waivers never cover gross negligence. If the park violated safety standards like the one-jumper-per-bed rule, the waiver is not a bar to your recovery.
How much is a trampoline park injury settlement worth in Texas?
Settlement values depend on the severity of the injury and the insurance layers available. While small fracture cases may settle in the $50,000 to $250,000 range, catastrophic injuries involving growth plates or the spine can reach the multi-million dollar range. Cosmic Jump in Houston resulted in an $11.485 million verdict for a TBI case.
Does it matter if the employee who caused the accident was a teenager?
No. The park is legally responsible for the actions of its employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior. In fact, if the park failed to adequately train that teenager, they may be liable for negligent training and supervision, which can be used to prove the gross negligence necessary to defeat a waiver.
How long do I have to sue a trampoline park in Texas?
The standard statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury. However, for a minor, the clock is “tolled” until they turn eighteen, giving them until age twenty to file. Do not wait this long—the evidence you need to win (video, witness logs, equipment condition) will be gone within months.
What if my child’s injury was on a neighbor’s backyard trampoline in Schertz?
You may have a claim against the homeowner or the manufacturer. In Texas, the attractive nuisance doctrine protects children who are injured by hazards their young minds could not fully appreciate. We will investigate the homeowner’s insurance policy and any product recalls involved with that specific trampoline brand.
Will the park’s insurance company pay our hospital bills?
They may offer what’s called “Med-Pay,” but this is often a trap. Accepting a small check for bills usually requires signing a release that prevents you from seeking the actual value of a catastrophic injury. Never deposit an insurance check without a lawyer’s review.
Why do I need an attorney who specialized in trampoline injuries?
Most firms don’t know the difference between a suburban backyard trampoline and a commercial interconnected court. We understand the mass-ratio double-bounce physics and the specific ASTM F2970 requirements. We identify the four or five layers of insurance coverage that generalists often miss.
What is rhabdomyolysis, and can I sue for it?
Rhabdomyolysis is muscle death that can lead to kidney failure. If your child was forced to jump for an extended period without water or breaks, or was trapped under collapsed equipment, and later had dark urine and muscle pain, the park may be liable. We are experts in this pathology, currently litigating a major $10M rhabdo case.
Do I have to go to Schertz for my case?
We have offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, but we handle cases nationwide. We can meet you by video or phone, and we travel to the facility and the courts where the case is filed. Our national practice ensures you get the best expertise, regardless of where the accident happened.
The Final Call for Justice
What happened to your child at Schertz wasn’t an accident—it was the output of a system. The park chose profit over safety ratios. The manufacturer sold a product the AAP warned against in 1999. The insurer drafted a waiver designed to intimidate families into silence.
We were built for this fight. Your child’s case is decided by what we preserve this week. The surveillance overwrites in days. The attendant transfers. The incident report gets “revised.”
Call 1-888-ATTY-911. Hablamos Español. No fee unless we win. We advance every expense—biomechanist, pediatric surgeon, ASTM expert, life-care planner. Your child’s recovery fund starts here.
Call Attorney911 today. Let us make them pay for what they took from your family.
