One bounce. One bad landing. One broken neck. That is all it takes at a trampoline park in Richardson. While you were at a birthday party watching your child laugh, the double-bounce happened in two seconds. Your child was airborne, then they weren’t. Today, you’re standing in a hospital room at Children’s Medical Center Dallas or the pediatric trauma unit at Medical City Plano, watching a surgeon explain what happens when a growth plate is destroyed at age nine.
If your child was injured at the Altitude Trampoline Park on Campbell Road in Richardson, or a nearby Urban Air in Garland or McKinney, you likely signed an iPad waiver at the kiosk twenty minutes before the paramedics arrived. The park manager might have told you that the waiver ends your claim. They hit you with the “Assumption of Risk” reflex before the ambulance even cleared the parking lot.
We’re here to tell you they’re wrong. For 25+ years, Attorney911 has fought for catastrophic injury victims across Richardson and the DFW metroplex. Ralph Manginello has spent his career making corporate defendants pay, from the BP Texas City refinery litigation to current $10 million lawsuits against major institutions. Our associate attorney, Lupe Peña, used to sit on the other side of the table—defending trampoline parks and recreational businesses against injury claims. He knows exactly which Richardson waiver clauses are full of holes and which insurance adjusters are using the “Friendly Adjuster Call” tactic to trick you into a quick, cheap settlement.
Trampoline injuries in Richardson are never “accidents.” They are the predictable output of a system designed to maximize margin and minimize safety monitoring. In Harris County, a jury awarded $11.485 million against a trampoline park operator because the jury found gross negligence—even though a waiver was signed. That is the kind of case we are built for.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911. Hablamos Español. No fee unless we win. Our spoliation letter goes out within 24 hours of your call to preserve the surveillance footage that the park would otherwise overwrite in 7 to 30 days.
The Richardson Trampoline Risk: Why Your Child Was Vulnerable
Richardson is a hub for competitive youth sports, from elite soccer leagues to the high-intensity cheer and gymnastics programs that feed into the DFW athletic pipeline. Parents in Richardson and the surrounding North Dallas suburbs often use parks like Altitude or Urban Air for off-season conditioning or birthday rewards. But the commercial model used by these national chains takes a product the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has warned against since 1999 and builds it at industrial scale.
Nationally, trampolines send more than 300,000 Americans to the emergency room every year. In a metro area like Richardson, the share is measured in thousands. According to the Teague et al. study published in Pediatrics in January 2024, the injury rate at trampoline parks remains alarming, specifically in attractions like foam pits and high-performance jumping zones.
The risk isn’t just about “bouncing.” It’s about physics and biology that don’t negotiate.
The Double-Bounce: A 4x Force Multiplier
The most common mechanism for a broken femur or tibia at an Richardson park is the double-bounce. When a 200-pound adult lands on a trampoline bed while a 60-pound child is pushing off, kinetic energy transfers through the bed. The child’s launch force multiplies by up to 4x. This is precisely why ASTM F2970—the safety standard written by the trampoline industry itself—requires parks to enforce age and weight separation. When an attendant at a Richardson park allows adults and small children on the same court, they are violating their own industry floor.
Children’s Bones are Not Adult Bones
Through-Line #10 of our practice is the reality of pediatric biology. Children’s growth plates (physes) are cartilage, not bone. They fail under loads that wouldn’t mark an adult. A Salter-Harris Type II fracture in a seven-year-old at a Richardson birthday party can produce a limb-length discrepancy that may not manifest until they are 14. We don’t just look at the ER bill; we build a Pediatric Life-Care Plan that accounts for the next decade of orthopedic monitoring and potential corrective surgeries.
Standards Violated: The Gap in the Richardson Market
Most personal injury firms can’t tell you what ASTM F2970 requires of a trampoline park. We can cite it from memory—attendant-to-jumper ratios, court spacing, foam pit depth, and age-separated jumping zones. When we depose the operations manager of a park near Richardson, we know their standards better than they do.
| Standard | Provision Topic | Relevance to Richardson Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| ASTM F2970 | Attendant Ratios | Required during Saturday peak traffic in Richardson |
| ASTM F2970 | Foam Pit Depth | Prevents cervical SCI from head-first entry |
| AAP Policy | Age 6 Prohibition | Children under 6 should not be on trampolines per medical consensus |
| EN ISO 23659:2022 | International Mandatory | The European standard that US parks like Sky Zone and Altitude fail to meet |
| TX Occ. Code Ch. 2151 | Class B Inflatables | Specific Texas regulation for bounce houses and zip lines inside parks |
In Texas, only the Class B inflatable attractions inside a trampoline park (like bungee tramps, Sky Riders, or inflatable obstacle courses) are regulated by the Texas Department of Insurance. The trampoline decks themselves are statutorily excluded under Texas Occupations Code § 2151.002. This regulatory gap is why aggressive private litigation is the only way to hold Richardson operators accountable.
Who is Liable? Piercing the Richardson Defendant Stack
When we say “we sue the park,” what that actually means is we perform a corporate archeology to find the money. National chains use franchise structures and LLC layering to shield their assets. We pierce those shields.
- The Operator LLC: The specific business running the Richardson facility.
- The Franchisee: A multi-unit holding company that may own parks across Dallas and Collin counties.
- The Franchisor: Entities like Sky Zone Franchising LLC or Urban Air Franchise Holdings.
- The Parent Company: Sky Zone, Inc. (backed by Palladium Equity Partners) or Unleashed Brands (backed by Seidler Equity Partners).
- The Manufacturer: For backyard cases involving Jumpking, Skywalker, or Springfree.
Damion Collins was awarded $15.6 million in arbitration against Urban Air after being paralyzed. The franchisor—UATP Management LLC—absorbed 40% of the fault despite arguing they were just a brand licensor. We understand that the money is upstream, and we name every layer from the attendant on duty to the private equity sponsor.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911. We advance every expense—the biomechanical engineer, the pediatric orthopedic consultant, the ASTM-compliance specialist. You pay nothing unless we win.
The Waiver is Noise, Not a Wall for Richardson Families
If you signed an iPad waiver at a park near Richardson, you might think you surrendered your rights. Texas law—and the experience of our former insurance-defense attorney Lupe Peña—says otherwise. We attack waivers on five vectors:
1. The Munoz Rule: Parental Indemnity is Void
In Texas, the landmark case of Munoz v. II Jaz Inc. established that a parent cannot bind a minor child to a pre-injury waiver. While the waiver might bar the parent’s claim for medical bills, the child’s own personal cause of action for pain, suffering, and permanent impairment survives.
2. The Dresser Fair Notice Doctrine
Texas courts follow the Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum rule. For a liability release to be enforceable, it must meet the “Express Negligence Docrtine” (it must specifically use the word “negligence”) and it must be “Conspicuous” (formatted to attract the attention of a reasonable person). Kiosk waivers that you click through in 30 seconds rarely satisfy these Texas-specific requirements.
3. The Gross Negligence Carve-Out
No waiver in Texas can release a party from gross negligence. If the Altitude or Sky Zone in the Richardson area knew that a foam pit was compacted below the 8-inch ASTM specification or that a trampoline mat had a tear and they didn’t fix it, that is gross negligence. A jury in Harris County found exactly that in the $11.485 million Cosmic Jump case.
4. Signer Authority (Texas Family Code § 153.073)
Many waivers are signed by aunts, grandmothers, or friends at birthday parties. Under Texas Law, only a legal guardian or court-appointed conservator has the authority to sign for a child. A non-guardian signature destroys the waiver’s footing as to that child.
5. The Bilingual-Formation Attack
If your family’s primary language is Spanish and the Richardson park presented an English-only iPad waiver with a teenage attendant pressuring you to “sign quickly,” you didn’t form a contract according to the Delfingen US-Texas v. Valenzuela doctrine. Lupe Peña speaks your language and knows how to use this internal playbook against the insurance company.
Catastrophic Injuries We Litigate in Richardson
Trampoline park injuries aren’t just sprained ankles. We represent Richardson families facing:
- Salter-Harris Fractures: Growth plate damage in the femur or tibia that causes crooked bone development.
- TBI & Concussions: Shearing of axonal fibers that can lead to permanent cognitive regression in a developing child.
- Cervical Spine Trauma (SCIWORA): Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality. A child’s neck can be hurt even when the X-ray looks normal.
- Vertebral Artery Dissection: The “spinal cord stroke” mechanism that went viral following the Elle Yona case, often misdiagnosed in Richardson ERs as a panic attack.
- Exertional Rhabdomyolysis: A child jumping for 90 minutes in a 85-degree indoor park can arrive at an Richardson hospital two days later in acute kidney failure. We currently litigate a $10 million lawsuit involving this exact physiology.
Learn more about documenting these injuries in our video guide: “The Ultimate Guide to Brain Injury Lawsuits” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBYAHi5aiEQ.
Evidence Preservation: The 72-Hour Clock
Your child’s case is decided by what gets preserved this week. The DVR overwrites in 7 to 30 days. The waiver kiosk database purges on cycles as short as 72 hours. The attendant transfers. The foam pit refills.
We don’t wait for the Richardson park’s risk management team to “lose” the footage. Within 24 hours of being hired, we send a formal spoliation demand using our proprietary litigation-hold scaffolds. We demand the DVR hard drive, the access logs showing every login, and the original incident report metadata. Every minute the park delays a 911 call or a refund is a minute they use to let surveillance overwrite.
Backyard Trampoline Injuries in Richardson
Not every Richardson injury happens at a park. Wealthy suburbs like those in North Richardson and Plano have high backyard trampoline density. If your kid wandered onto a neighbor’s Jumpking or Skywalker trampoline and got hurt, the “Attractive Nuisance” doctrine applies in Texas.
Property owners are responsible for hazardous conditions that attract children who cannot appreciate the danger. Many Richardson homeowners’ policies exclude trampolines—but we look for umbrella layers and manufacturer defect claims (design defect, failure to warn, or CPSC recall history) to ensure your child is covered.
Frequently Asked Questions for Richardson Parents
Can I sue if I signed the waiver at a park in Richardson?
Yes. As discussed, Texas law voids parental waivers for a minor’s personal claim. Additionally, gross negligence (like ignoring ASTM staffing ratios) and improper waiver formation (like the Delfingen Spanish-language gap) provide clear pathways for Richardson lawyers to strike the waiver.
Should I take my kid to a trampoline park at all?
The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised against home and recreational trampoline use since 1999. If you do go, we recommend avoiding the foam pits and preventing your child from jumping with anyone significantly larger than them.
What should I do if my kid broke a bone at an Richardson park?
Get medical care immediately at a Level 1 pediatric trauma center. Do not give a recorded statement to the park’s adjuster. Take photos of the court where it happened and call 1-888-ATTY-911 to preserve the video evidence before it is deleted.
How much is a trampoline-park lawyer in Richardson?
We work on a contingency fee basis. No fee unless we win. We advance the costs of biomechanical engineers, orthopedic experts, and digital forensic specialists. Your child’s recovery fund stays intact.
Why did the park employee tell me not to call 911?
This is a documented industry pattern found in reviews of parks across Texas, including Urban Air Southlake. Parks often try to downplay injuries so that witnesses scatter and video overwrites. If your child is hurt, always call 911 yourself.
How much money can my family get for a trampoline injury settlement?
Payouts depend on the severity of the injury and the insurance layers available. National settlements range from $50,000 for simple fractures to $15M+ for permanent spinal cord injuries. The $11.485 million Houston verdict proves that Texas juries will hold these corporations accountable.
Why Choose Attorney911 for Your Richardson Case?
Most personal injury firms handle a trampoline case like a simple slip-and-fall. We don’t. We built our practice around exactly this fight.
- 25+ Years Experience: Ralph Manginello has gone toe-to-toe with Fortune 500 corporations like BP and Walmart.
- The Defense Playbook: Lupe Peña knows which clauses are full of holes because he used to write them for the insurance companies.
- The Rhabdo Bridge: We represent victims of muscular and kidney failure in $10 million cases today—applying that expertise to trampoline exertion injuries.
- Bilingual Representation: Hablamos Español. Lupe Peña speaks with you directly—no interpreters, no delays.
One company might have said they would not accept your case. Then you call Manginello. As client Donald Wilcox said, “I got a call to come pick up this handsome check.”
The Final Kill Shot: Act Now or Lose Evidence
Your child’s future depends on what we preserve today. The park has lawyers. The franchisor has lawyers. The private equity sponsors behind companies like Sky Zone and Urban Air have lawyers. So do we.
What happened to your child in Richardson wasn’t an accident; it was a result of a park operating below a safety floor to hit a margin target. We will name them. We will hold them accountable.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911. (888) 288-9911. Hablamos Español. Free Consultation. No fee unless we win. The case starts today.
