The Port Aransas Parent’s Guide to Trampoline Park and Backyard Injuries

“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 Kaitlin “Kati” Hill, a mother whose warning post about her three-year-old son Colton’s broken femur was shared over 240,000 times. As they sat in the hospital, Kati wrote five words that every parent in Port Aransas needs to hear before they sign a kiosk waiver: “We had no idea.”

At the Manginello Law Firm, we see the aftermath of that “no idea” every day. We represent families who walked into a family entertainment center expecting a safe Saturday and left in an ambulance. With over 25 years of experience in catastrophic injury law, our managing partner Ralph Manginello has gone head-to-head with some of the largest corporations in the world, from BP to Walmart and Amazon. We aren’t just personal injury lawyers; we are a dedicated trampoline injury practice that understands the physics of a double-bounce, the biology of a pediatric growth plate, and the corporate architecture designed to shield national chains from accountability.

If your child was injured at a trampoline park in the Port Aransas area or on a neighbor’s backyard trampoline in Nueces County, you are facing a multi-layer defense system. The park has risk management teams, the franchisor has corporate counsel, and the insurer has a playbook designed to close your file for as little as possible. We built our firm to dismantle that playbook. Our team includes a former insurance defense attorney, Lupe Peña, who used to sit on the other side of the table. He knows exactly which waiver clauses hold up and which ones are full of holes.

In Harris County, a jury awarded $11.485 million—including $6 million in punitive damages—against the operator of Cosmic Jump after a teenager fell through a torn trampoline slide onto concrete. The waiver was signed. The jury found gross negligence anyway. That is the largest reported verdict of its kind in the United States, and it happened right here in Texas. Whether your case involves an Urban Air, a Sky Zone, or a defective Jumpking in a backyard, we bring that same level of aggressive, data-driven litigation to every file.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911. Hablamos Español. Our spoliation letter goes out within 24 hours of your retention. The clock on the park’s surveillance video is already ticking.

The Reality of Trampoline Injuries in Port Aransas and Nueces County

Port Aransas is a community built on family memories, from days at the beach to weekend trips into Corpus Christi for birthday parties at places like Urban Air or Jumping World. But for many families, those memories are interrupted by a catastrophic sound—the snap of a bone or the silence of a child who can’t get up.

Nationwide, trampolines send over 300,000 people to the emergency room every year. The vast majority are children. According to a landmark 2024 study published in the journal Pediatrics by Teague et al., the injury rate in commercial parks is significantly higher than most parents realize. The study tracked 13,256 injuries and found that foam pits and “high-performance” jumping areas are high-risk zones, with injury rates of 1.91 and 2.11 per 1,000 jumper-hours, respectively. In a busy park on a Saturday afternoon near Port Aransas, those numbers mean an injury is almost a statistical certainty.

In our coastal environment, backyard trampolines face an additional threat: the air. The salt air and high humidity of Port Aransas accelerate the corrosion of metal springs and the UV degradation of polypropylene safety nets. A trampoline bought three years ago might look fine, but the structural integrity of the frame welds and the tensile strength of the netting are often compromised. When a neighbor’s child is invited over to jump and the net fails, the “attractive nuisance” doctrine in Texas law holds the homeowner accountable.

Why “Accidents” Are Actually Business Decisions

We operate from a single master premise: A trampoline injury is never just an accident. It is the predictable output of a system designed to maximize margin at the expense of safety.

1. The Understaffing Decision: ASTM F2970 is the safety standard the trampoline industry wrote for itself. It requires specific monitor-to-jumper ratios. When a park in the Port Aransas area operates at half that ratio on a holiday weekend, they are making a business decision to save on payroll. This leads to unmonitored courts where a 200-pound adult is allowed to jump next to a 50-pound child.
2. The Maintenance Gap: Foam pits require deep cleaning and regular rotation of the foam blocks to prevent compaction. When blocks aren’t rotated, a child landing head-first strikes the hard floor beneath. That isn’t a “freak accident”; it’s a failure to follow the maintenance cadence required by industry standards.
3. The Training Failure: Most court monitors are teenagers making minimum wage with 2 to 4 hours of total training. They often have no CPR or first-aid certification. When an injury happens, their instructions are often to “downplay” the incident—a tactic documented at Urban Air locations where parents reported employees were specifically instructed not to call 911.

We litigate these cases by exposing these decisions. We don’t just ask what happened; we ask who authorized the staffing cut, who signed off on the pro-forma inspection log, and why the franchisor ignored the audit that flagged the hazard months earlier.

The 5-Layer Defendant Stack: We Go Upstream

One of the biggest mistakes a generalist law firm makes is suing only the local park. Most trampoline parks are structured as single-location LLCs with limited assets and a primary insurance policy that won’t cover a catastrophic spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). We use corporate archeology to pierce these shields and find the money upstream.

• Layer 1: The Operator LLC. The local entity on the lease.
• Layer 2: The Franchisee. Often a multi-unit group owning several locations.
• Layer 3: The Franchisor. National entities like Sky Zone Franchising LLC or Urban Air Franchise Holdings. They impose the standards and training manuals.
• Layer 4: The Corporate Parent. Sky Zone, Inc. (renamed from CircusTrix) is backed by Palladium Equity Partners. Urban Air is part of Unleashed Brands, which was acquired by Seidler Equity Partners in 2023.
• Layer 5: Manufacturers and Retrofitters. The companies that built the defective court or supplied the unpadded climbing wall, such as Ropes Courses, Inc.

When we say we hold defendants accountable, we mean all of them. In the Damion Collins case against Urban Air, an arbitrator awarded $15.6 million for a quadriplegia injury, and the franchisor—UATP Management LLC—was held responsible for 40% of that award. Arbitration is not a safe harbor for these companies when they face a firm that knows how to prove systemic failure.

If your child’s life was changed by a bad landing, you need more than a lawyer; you need a strategy. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free case evaluation.

The Waiver Is Not a Wall: Dismantling the Defense

The first thing an insurance adjuster will do when you call them is tell you that you signed a waiver. They want you to believe your case is over before it begins. In Texas, that is simply not true.

We attack waivers using three primary legal pillars:

1. The Minor Child Rule (Munoz v. II Jaz Inc.)

Texas law is clear: A parent generally cannot sign away a minor child’s right to sue for personal injuries. Under the Munoz doctrine, even if you typed your name into that kiosk, your child’s own claim for their pain, suffering, and medical needs remains intact. The waiver might affect your claim for the medical bills you paid, but it does not stop your child from seeking justice.

2. The Express Negligence and Conspicuousness Test (Dresser)

The Texas Supreme Court established in Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum that a release of future negligence must be “conspicuous.” It shouldn’t be buried in the fine print. It must also satisfy the “express negligence” doctrine—it has to specifically say it covers the park’s own negligence. Many electronic waivers used in Nueces County parks fail one or both of these tests.

3. The Gross Negligence Carve-Out

No waiver in America can legally release a company from “gross negligence.” In Texas, gross negligence is defined as a conscious indifference to an extreme degree of risk. If a park knew a trampoline was torn (like in the Cosmic Jump case) or if they were on notice of repeated injuries in a foam pit and did nothing, the waiver is voided.

Hablamos Español. Si usted firmó una renuncia en inglés pero su idioma principal es el español, la doctrina Delfingen en Texas puede invalidar ese documento por falta de entendimiento. Lupe Peña habla con usted directamente para proteger a su familia.

Catastrophic Pediatric Injuries: The Medical Stakes

A trampoline injury at age seven is not the same as a trampoline injury at age thirty-seven. Children’s bodies are biomechanically distinct. Their bones are less ossified and more pliable, but their growth plates (physes) are highly vulnerable to compression.

Salter-Harris Growth Plate Fractures

We often represent children who suffered a “Salter-Harris” fracture. Because these occur in the cartilaginous zones at the ends of the bones, they can stop bone growth entirely or cause the bone to grow at an angle. A break that looks “healed” on an X-ray today can manifest as a permanent limb-length discrepancy or a crooked leg five years later. We retain pediatric orthopedic experts to project these costs into a Life-Care Plan.

SCIWORA (Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality)

Children have flexible spines but fragile spinal cords. It is possible for a child to land head-first in a foam pit and suffer a permanent spinal cord injury even if the initial CT scan shows no broken bones. This is SCIWORA. If your child had neck pain or “panic attack” symptoms after a backflip (the misdiagnosis viral case of Elle Yona), they need a specialist MRI immediately.

Exertional Rhabdomyolysis

One of the most dangerous, under-reported trampoline park risks is “rhabdo.” When a child jumps for 90 minutes in a hot indoor environment without enough water, their muscles can literally begin to break down, releasing proteins that clog the kidneys. We are currently litigating a $10 million lawsuit against a major university involving rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure. We know the myoglobin cascade, we know the CK levels, and we know how to hold institutions accountable for failing to provide hydration and rest breaks.

The 48-Hour Evidence Window

The most important work in your case happens in the first week. While you are at your child’s bedside, the park’s risk management team is already busy.

• Surveillance Overwrites: Most DVR systems in these facilities overwrite footage every 7 to 30 days. If we don’t send a formal spoliation letter immediately, the video of the attendant on his phone will be gone forever.
• Incident Report Revisions: We use digital forensics to pull the metadata of incident reports. We often find that the “final” version of the report—the one the insurance company sees—was “revised” days after the original handwritten notes were taken.
• Foam Pit remediation: Once a serious injury occurs, many parks will suddenly “rotate” their foam or add new padding. While this is a subsequent remedial measure, we document it to show that a safer alternative was feasible all along.

We advance all investigation costs. We hire the biomechanical engineers to reconstruct the fall and the ASTM specialists to depose the park manager. You pay nothing unless we win.

Frequently Asked Questions for Port Aransas Families

What should I do if my child got hurt at a trampoline park today?

First, seek medical attention at a pediatric trauma center like Driscoll Children’s Hospital. Do not wait for symptoms to worsen. Second, do not give a recorded statement to the park or their insurer. Every “I guess” or “maybe” will be used to blame your child for the fall. Third, call a dedicated trampoline injury firm like ours to freeze the evidence.

Can I sue if I signed the waiver?

Yes. As discussed, Texas law provides several “attack vectors” against these waivers, especially in cases involving minors or gross negligence. The $11.485 million Cosmic Jump verdict was won despite a signed waiver.

How much is my trampoline injury case worth?

It depends on the severity. Settlements for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and spinal cord injuries (SCI) can reach the multi-million dollar range. Smaller pediatric fractures with growth plate damage often anchor in the $500,000 to $2 million range because of the need for future medical monitoring and potential surgeries.

Who is liable for a backyard trampoline injury?

In a backyard case, we look at three parties: the homeowner (premises liability), the manufacturer (design or manufacturing defect), and the retailer (strict products liability). If the owner’s manual for a Jumpking or Skywalker trampoline was inadequate, or if the safety net failed due to a manufacturing flaw, the company is on the hook.

Does it matter which brand of park it was?

The parent conglomerates behind Sky Zone, Urban Air, Altitude, and DEFY all have different insurance and corporate structures. Sky Zone, Inc. recently consolidated under Palladium Equity, while Unleashed Brands (Urban Air) has been the subject of franchisee complaints regarding “ambitious growth” affecting safety. We perform corporate archeology on all of them.

The Moat: Why Port Aransas Families Trust Us

When you hire Attorney911, you aren’t getting a local lawyer who “also handles” trampoline cases. You are getting a firm with a nationwide reputation for taking on the giants of the recreation industry.

• Lupe Peña’s Inside Knowledge: He used to work for the firms that defend these parks. He knows where the insurance towers are hidden and which waiver phrases are legally unenforceable in a Texas courtroom.
• Proximity to Nueces County: With offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, we serve the entire Gulf Coast. We know the local courts, we know the regional medical providers, and we understand the specific environmental factors that lead to equipment failure in Port Aransas.
• The UH Rhabdo Connection: Our active $10 million lawsuit against the University of Houston gives us a medical-litigation edge that no other firm in Texas possesses when it comes to rhabdomyolysis and crush injuries.
• Multi-Million Dollar Track Record: We have recovered millions for victims of brain injuries, amputations, and wrongful death. We don’t just settle; we build every file for a jury.

Port Aransas and Coastal Bend Trampoline Park Inventory

If your injury occurred at any of the following locations or a similar facility in the region, we are ready to assist:

• Urban Air Adventure Park (Corpus Christi): 4701 S Staples St.
• Jumping World (Corpus Christi): 1601 Flour Bluff Dr.
• Backyard Trampolines: Manufactured by Jumpking, Skywalker, Springfree, or Bouncepro (sold via Walmart/Amazon).

In a coastal town like Port Aransas, the “attractive nuisance” of an unsecured backyard trampoline is a seasonal risk as vacationers and local kids share neighborhoods. If your child wandered onto a neighbor’s property and was injured, Texas law protects them through this doctrine.

Take Action: The Case Starts Today

Your child’s case will be decided by what gets preserved this week. If the DVR is overwritten, your strongest evidence might vanish. If the incident report is “sanitized,” the truth becomes harder to prove.

We treatment our clients like family because we know what is at stake. As our client Chad Harris said, “You are NOT just some client… You are FAMILY to them.” We represent the parent who is worried about their child’s walking ability at age 18. We represent the family facing a mountain of medical debt. We represent you.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). Open 24/7. Hablamos Español. Free Consultation. Zero upfront costs. We only get paid when you do.

What happened to your child wasn’t just bad luck—it was the result of a system that failed them. The AAP has been warning about these risks since 1999. The industry wrote its own safety standards in 2013 and has been violating them ever since. The franchisors use LLCs to hide their Sales, but they can’t hide from us. We have gone toe-to-toe with BP; we are more than ready for a trampoline park.

The time to protect your child’s future is now. Call 1-888-ATTY-911.