Your Family’s Guide to Trampoline Injury Accountability in Shallowater

The Worst Scream You Could Ever Hear

Imagine a Saturday afternoon near Shallowater. You’ve driven into the Lubbock metro area to one of the regional adventure parks—perhaps the Urban Air, MaxxAir, or TexStar. You signed the waiver on the iPad at the kiosk because the line was long and your children were excited. You handed them their grip socks and watched them walk toward the main court.

Twenty minutes later, the afternoon changes forever.

There is a sound that parents of injured children never forget. Kaitlin “Kati” Hill, whose son Colton’s femur was shattered at a park during a “Toddler Time” session, described it to ABC News as “the worst scream that you could ever have heard from a child.” Her story, shared over 240,000 times on social media, ended with a haunting realization: “We had no idea. We would have never put our baby boy on a trampoline if we had known.”

We see the aftermath of these “no idea” moments every week. In Harris County, a sixteen-year-old named Max Menchaca fell through a tear in a trampoline slide at Cosmic Jump. He didn’t land on a safety net; he fell five feet onto a concrete floor. The resulting traumatic brain injury led to a $11.485 million jury verdict, including $6 million in punitive damages. Despite the signed waiver, the jury found the park grossly negligent.

In Sugar Land, the Lakhani family watched their daughter fall thirty feet from a climbing wall because an attendant reportedly strapped her into a harness but never attached the fall-protection equipment. They told ABC13 Houston that employees actually refused to help while their child lay on the ground with broken ankles and a compressed spine.

When your child is the one in the trauma bay at a facility like UMC Children’s Hospital or Covenant Children’s in Lubbock, you don’t need an attorney who “handles accidents.” You need a team that has spent twenty-five years holding Fortune 500 corporations accountable. You need a firm that knows exactly why the trampoline industry’s self-written safety standards were violated. You need Attorney911.

Why Shallowater Families Trust The Manginello Law Firm

We are not just a law firm; we are a dedicated catastrophic injury practice with a national reputation for dismantling corporate shields. Ralph Manginello has been fighting for victims since 1998. Admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, he has litigated against multinational giants like BP, Walmart, and Amazon. He knows how these conglomerates operate because he has forced them to pay for their decisions.

Our team includes associate attorney Lupe Peña, who brings a strategic advantage most firms cannot match. Lupe spent years on the other side of the table—defending insurance companies and recreational facilities. He literally wrote the playbook they use to deny your claim. He knows which waiver clauses are ironclad in Texas and which ones are full of holes. He is a native Spanish speaker who speaks to our families directly, ensuring nothing is lost in translation when the insurance adjuster tries to leverage a language gap.

We are currently litigating a $10 million lawsuit against the University of Houston and Pi Kappa Phi involving rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure. The medical expertise we’ve built in that case—the muscle-breakdown science of rhabdo and compartment syndrome—applies directly to the extended-exertion and crush injuries we see in trampoline park cases. We are the firm that knows the medicine as well as we know the law.

ASTM F2970 and the “Industry Standard” Illusion

When a park manager in the Lubbock area tells you they meet “the industry standard,” they are likely referring to ASTM F2970. What they won’t tell you is that the trampoline industry wrote those rules for themselves.

ASTM F2970-22 is a voluntary consensus standard. It sets the safety floor for attendant-to-jumper ratios, age separation, and foam pit maintenance. In many states, this standard is a ceiling that operators rarely reach. In Europe, they have EN ISO 23659:2022, a mandatory standard that is far more rigorous. The United States remains an outlier, functioning on a voluntary regime where Sky Zone, Urban Air, DEFY, and Altitude choose how much of the safety floor they want to follow.

When a 200-pound adult double-bounces an 80-pound child in Shallowater, launching them with four times their own force, it isn’t an accident. It is a violation of the age and weight separation provisions in a safety standard the park already admitted was necessary.

The 48-Hour Evidence Crisis in Shallowater

The most dangerous part of a trampoline injury case isn’t the park’s waiver—it’s the clock.

Most park surveillance DVR systems are engineered to overwrite every 7, 14, or 30 days. If you wait for the surgery to heal before calling a lawyer, the video of the incident is gone. The waiver kiosk databases, which track the exact version of the release you signed, are often purged on cycles as short as 72 hours.

The moment we are retained, we send an aggressive spoliation letter. We don’t just ask them to “keep the video.” We demand the DVR hard drive, the access logs, and the metadata. We know the “surveillance unavailable” defense because Lupe Peña witnessed it from the other side. When the footage from four separate cameras “glitches” at the exact moment of an injury—as it did in the Mathew Knight case in Georgia—jurors start asking questions that lead to multi-million dollar verdicts.

The Five-Layer Defendant Stack

If you sue “Sky Zone” or “Urban Air,” the defense will immediately tell you that the park is an independently owned franchise and corporate isn’t responsible. We don’t accept that. We perform corporate archeology on every case to find the money they’ve hidden upstream.

The defendant stack typically looks like this:

1. The Operator LLC: The local entity in the Lubbock area. Often undercapitalized with small insurance limits.
2. The Franchisee: A regional group that may own several Texas locations.
3. The Franchisor: Entities like Sky Zone Franchising LLC or UATP Management LLC. They mandate the training and safety standards. If they fail to audit their franchisees, they are liable.
4. The Corporate Parent: Sky Zone, Inc. (formerly CircusTrix LLC), backed by Palladium Equity Partners, or Unleashed Brands, backed by Seidler Equity Partners.
5. The Manufacturing Entity: Often a pass-through entity like UA Attractions LLC, which was hit with 20% fault in the Damion Collins $15.6 million arbitration.

We name every layer. The “policy limit is $1 million” line the adjuster uses is a shell game. We find the umbrella, the excess, the franchisor’s additional-insured coverage, and the private-equity-backed corporate tower.

The Waiver Is a Speed Bump, Not a Wall

You’ve probably heard that if you sign a waiver, you have no case. In Shallowater, and across Texas, that is simply false.

Texas courts follow the Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum doctrine of “fair notice.” A waiver must be conspicuous and explicitly use the word “negligence.” Most kiosk waivers, buried in 20 screens of fast-clicking iPads, don’t meet this test.

More importantly, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001 and § 16.003 establish that while a parent might sign a document, they cannot legally waive a minor child’s personal cause of action. The landmark Texas ruling in Munoz v. II Jaz Inc. confirms that a child’s right to recovery cannot be signed away at the front desk.

If the park’s conduct was grossly negligent—if they knew a trampoline was torn or that a foam pit was compacted and did nothing—the waiver is void. No state in America allows a corporation to waive its way out of gross negligence.

Pediatric Biology Doesn’t Negotiate

Children’s bones in Shallowater are not just smaller versions of adult bones. Their growth plates (physes) are made of cartilage and are the weakest part of their developing frames. A Salter-Harris Type II fracture at age nine doesn’t just mean a cast. It means a decade of orthopedic monitoring to ensure the leg grows straight. If the growth plate is destroyed, your child may face multiple corrective surgeries well into their teens.

We work with pediatric orthopedic surgeons and life-care planners to calculate these costs over sixty years of life expectancy, not just the next six months. A “broken ankle” to an insurance adjuster is a life-altering developmental trauma to our experts.

Frequently Asked Questions for Shallowater Families

Can I sue if I signed a waiver at a park like Urban Air or Sky Zone?

Yes. As we proved in the Cosmic Jump case, a signature is not a license for a park to be reckless. Texas law voids waivers for gross negligence and often protects a minor’s right to sue regardless of what the parent signed.

What should I do if the park manager won’t call 911?

In a public review of a North Texas Urban Air, a parent stated employees were instructed by management to NOT call 911. If this happens to you, call 911 yourself immediately. The park’s delay is not just a training failure; it is evidence of a conscious indifference to your child’s safety.

How much is my child’s case worth?

Every case is unique, but national data for catastrophic trampoline injuries anchors in the multi-million dollar range. Quadriplegia awards like the $15.6 million Damion Collins award or TBI verdicts like the $11.485 million Houston result are benchmarks for the stakes involved.

Does it cost anything to hire Attorney911?

No. We operate on a contingency fee basis. We advance all costs—the biomechanical engineers, the safety experts, the medical chronologies. If we don’t win for you, you don’t owe us a dime.

Why does the adjuster keep calling me to “check in”?

We call this the friendly adjuster trap. Our associate, Lupe Peña, used to train these adjusters. Their goal is to get a recorded statement where you admit fault or downplay the injury. Refer all calls to us.

The Evidence Starts Vanishing Today

If your family’s life changed in one bad landing in the Lubbock area, the most important decision you will make is what you do in the next 24 hours. The trampoline park’s risk management team is already at work. They are reviewing the video and identifying witnesses to protect their margin.

We represent families in Shallowater and across the country. Our Texas offices are the launch point for a national fight against an unregulated industry that puts profit before pediatric safety.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911. Hablamos Español. Our forensic investigation starts the moment you hang up. We advance every expense so your child’s recovery fund stays intact.

1-888-ATTY-911. We answer twenty-four hours a day. The clock is running.

Detailed Liability Taxonomy: Who We Hold Accountable

A trampoline injury in Shallowater often results in a complex web of liability. We leave no stone unturned when identifying who is on the hook for your medical bills and pain and suffering.

1. Commercial Park Operators and Chains

We pursue national chains including:

• Sky Zone Adventure Park (parents Sky Zone, DEFY, Rockin’ Jump under Sky Zone, Inc.)
• Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park (parents Unleashed Brands, Seidler Equity)
• Altitude Trampoline Park (HQ in Fort Worth, TX)
• Launch Entertainment
• Get Air, Rockin’ Jump, Big Air, and regional independent operators.

2. The 5-Layer Corporate Stack

We pierce the corporate veil by identifying:

• The Operator LLC: The local Lubbock or Shallowater entity.
• The Multi-Unit Franchisee: Large groups that operate several locations.
• The Franchisor: The corporate entity that collects royalties and dictates safety manuals.
• The Private Equity Sponsor: Firms like Palladium Equity Partners or Seidler Equity Partners that make the high-level budget cuts affecting staffing.
• The Component Manufacturer: The vendors who supplied the defective mats, springs, or foam blocks.

3. Residential and Backyard Manufacturers

If your child was injured on a home trampoline in Shallowater, we look at:

• Jumpking, Skywalker, Springfree, JumpSport, ACON, Vuly, Zupapa.
• Retailers and Marketplaces: Walmart (for private-label Bouncepro), Amazon (for Amazon Basics), and Target.

Mechanisms of Catastrophe: How it Happens

Every attraction in a “jump park” carries a specific, documented danger that the industry has known about for decades.

The Double-Bounce Multipier

ASTM F2970 and the AAP have warned about multi-jumper use since 1999. In a double-bounce, the kinetic energy of a heavier jumper is transferred to the lighter child. This 4x launch force shatters tibias and femurs.

The Foam Pit Failure

Foam pits look like harmless piles of cubes. Biomechanically, they are traps. If the pit is compacted below the 8-inch specification or if the blocks have degraded, a head-first entry results in cervical axial loading—leading to permanent paralysis. We frequently cite the Ty Thomasson Phoenix case where a 2’8″ deep pit proved lethal.

The Rhabdo Risk

Exertional rhabdomyolysis is the “silent emergency.” In hot indoor environments like those of West Texas, children jumping for 90-120 minutes straight without hydration can suffer a breakdown of muscle tissue that poison their kidneys. Link this to our active $10 million University of Houston rhabdo litigation.

The Attorney911 Moat: Why We Are Unbeatable

• Lupe Peña’s Insider Knowledge: She knows the insurance adjusting software. She knows the script. She used to defend the very parks we now sue.
• $10 Million Medical Literacy: Our active UH hazing case means we have the nation’s leading rhabdo and acute kidney failure experts on speed dial.
• BP-Scale Fortitude: Ralph Manginello has faced the world’s largest corporate legal teams. A trampoline park franchisor does not move the needle on our stress level.
• Forensic Precision: We use FTK Imager and Magnet AXIOM to image DVRs. We use Wayback Machine archaeology to find the old safety policies the park deleted after you were hurt.

Shallowater Local Resource and Recovery Map

If your child is injured, Shallowater families typically route to:

• UMC Children’s Hospital (Lubbock): The region’s primary pediatric trauma center.
• Covenant Children’s (Lubbock): Specialized pediatric surgical care.
• Texas Tech Health Sciences Center: Specialized orthopedic and neurosurgical consultation.

We monitor the standards of care at these facilities. We know that if a pediatrician in the Lubbock area misses a Salter-Harris fracture or misdiagnoses a vertebral artery dissection as a “panic attack”—as happened in the Elle Yona TikTok case—the consequences are for life.

Call Attorney911 Now

Your child is not a file number. They are family. We represent families who have been through the nightmare of Kati Hill and Max Menchaca. We handle the paperwork, the experts, and the insurance towers so you can focus on being at your child’s bedside.

1-888-ATTY-911. Shallowater families deserve the firm that knows the industry better than the industry knows itself.

Spanish Language Services / Servicios en Español

Muchas de las víctimas de lesiones en parques de trampolines en Shallowater son de familias hispanohablantes. Lupe Peña es nuestra abogada bilingüe y ella lo representará directamente. Bajo la doctrina de Delfingen US-Texas v. Valenzuela, si usted firmó un waiver en inglés y no pudo entenderlo adecuadamente, la renuncia puede ser anulada.

Llame al 1-888-ATTY-911 para hablar con Lupe ahora.

Verbatim Parent Queries We Answer Every Day

• “Can I sue if I signed the iPad waiver at the park?” Yes, because Texas law protects children and gross negligence is never waivable.
• “They wouldn’t call 911 for my child—is that legal?” It is a powerful indicator of gross negligence.
• “How much does a trampoline park lawyer cost?” Nothing up front. We only get paid if you win.
• “The park says it was my child’s fault. What do I do?” Do not believe them. Call us to preserve the video before it’s deleted.

Part XV — If Your Child Has Been Injured

We hope you never need our services. But if you do, speed is your only ally.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911. No fee unless we win. We advance every expense—biomechanist, pediatric surgeon, life-care planner. Your child’s recovery fund stays untouched. Our spoliation letter goes out within 24 hours.

Ralph Manginello – 25+ Years Experience.
Lupe Peña – Former Insurance Defense.
The Manginello Law Firm – Built for this fight.