“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.“
Those are the words of a mother named Kati Hill, describing the moment a trampoline park accident shattered her three-year-old son Colton’s femur. She ended her public warning to other families with five words that we hear in our offices every single week: “We had no idea.“
If you are reading this in a hospital waiting room or at your kitchen table in Van Alstyne while your child sleeps in a room nearby, we know exactly what you’re feeling. You feel the weight of a signature you gave at a kiosk twenty minutes before the world changed. You feel the guilt of letting them jump. You feel the exhaustion of a long drive from an emergency room in McKinney or Dallas back to Grayson County.
We are here to tell you two things that the trampoline park’s manager and their insurance adjuster never will. First: this was not your fault. Second: that waiver you signed is not the absolute wall they want you to believe it is.
At Attorney911, led by Ralph Manginello with over 25 years of experience in catastrophic injury litigation, we represent families in Van Alstyne and across Texas who have been victimized by an industry that prioritizes profit margins over pediatric safety. We don’t just “handle” personal injury cases; we dismantle the corporate systems that allow these injuries to happen. Whether your child was hurt at a national chain like Urban Air, Sky Zone, or Altitude, or sustained a life-altering fracture on a backyard trampoline in your own neighborhood, we have the experience, the medical experts, and the aggressive litigation strategy to hold the responsible parties accountable.
One Jump, One Landing, One Life Changed
Trampoline injuries are not “freak accidents.” They are the predictable results of a business model that scales a high-risk activity to industrial throughput while minimizing the cost of supervision. In Van Alstyne, where backyard trampolines are a suburban staple and the major entertainment centers of the North Dallas corridor are just a short drive down Highway 75, the risk is constant.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been warning parents since 1999 that trampolines do not belong in a recreational setting for children. That position was reaffirmed in 2012 and again in 2019. Despite twenty-five years of medical consensus, the trampoline park industry has exploded, and manufacturers continue to sell backyard units like Jumpking, Skywalker, and Bouncepro with a “wink and a nod” to safety.
Nationally, over 300,000 trampoline-related emergency room visits occur every year. The vast majority of these victims are children. In a growing community like Van Alstyne, our children are at the center of this pediatric trauma epidemic.
The Physics of the Catastrophe: Why “Just Jumping” Shatters Bones
The industry’s favorite defense is that trampolining is “inherently dangerous” and that you assumed the risk. We answer that with the laws of physics—rules that the parks know but rarely enforce.
The Double-Bounce Multiplier
The most common injury mechanism in trampoline parks is the double-bounce. When an 80-pound child pushes off a trampoline bed at the same instant a 200-pound adult lands on the same mat, kinetic energy is transferred and multiplied. The child isn’t jumping anymore; they have become a projectile launched with up to 4x their original force. This energy transfer hits the child’s developing tibia or femur with the force of a hammer.
ASTM F2970—the safety standard written by the trampoline industry itself—requires parks to separate jumpers by age and weight. Walk into a crowded Sky Zone or Urban Air on a Saturday afternoon and count the monitors. When you see an adult and a toddler on the same court, you are looking at a violation of a safety standard the park claims to follow.
The Foam Pit Fallacy
Foam pits look like harmless clouds of polyurethane. They are actually traps. As foam cubes age and compact, their ability to absorb impact drops. ASTM F2970 specifies the required depth and density for these pits. When the depth drops below eight inches of clearance above the hard floor, a head-first landing becomes a cervical spine disaster.
We have seen what happens when these standards are ignored. In the landmark Max Menchaca v. Cosmic Jump case in Harris County, a sixteen-year-old fell through a tear in a trampoline slide onto a concrete floor. A Texas jury returned a $11.485 million verdict, including $6 million in punitive damages, because the park knew the equipment was defective and did nothing. That is the kind of accountability we pursue for families in Van Alstyne.
Harness and Attraction Failures
Modern “adventure parks” have bolted on ziplines (like the Urban Air Sky Rider), climbing walls, and ninja courses. These attractions often rely on auto-belay systems or manual harness securement by teenagers making minimum wage. In North Carolina, twelve-year-old Matthew Lu died at an Altitude park because an employee failed to properly secure his harness. The park publicly admitted “human error” and removed the attraction. In Sugar Land, the Lakhani family is currently litigating a 30-foot fall caused by an unattached harness.
If your child was hurt on a non-trampoline attraction at a “jump park,” the park’s trampoline-focused waiver may not even apply to the injury. We look for these gaps on Day 1.
Learn more about documenting the scene and securing evidence in our guide: “I’ve Had an Accident — What Should I Do First?” (OCox4Lq7zBM).
The Texas Legal Shield: Why Your Waiver May Be Worthless
The first thing a park manager or an insurance adjuster will do is point at the waiver you signed on an iPad. In Texas, we have specific laws that protect families from these “take it or leave it” contracts.
The Munoz Doctrine: Parents Cannot Waive a Child’s Rights
In Texas, the case of Munoz v. II Jaz Inc. established a principle every Van Alstyne parent needs to memorize: a parent generally cannot sign away a minor child’s personal cause of action. While the waiver might limit your rights as a parent to sue for your own losses, it does not bar your child’s right to seek justice for their physical pain, medical bills, and permanent impairment.
The Dresser Fair Notice Requirement
Under the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling in Dresser Industries v. Page Petroleum, a release of future negligence must be “conspicuous” and meet the “express negligence doctrine.” This means the word “negligence” must be prominently displayed, not buried in small print. Most kiosk waivers are rushed, cramped, and illegible. One of our attorneys, Lupe Peña, used to defend these recreational companies. He knows exactly where the holes in these waivers are—because he used to look for them from the other side.
Gross Negligence Carve-Outs
No waiver in Texas can release a company from gross negligence—the conscious disregard for an extreme risk. When we prove that a park in Grayson County knew its foam pit was too shallow or that its monitors were ignoring age-mixing rules, the waiver fails.
Catastrophic Pediatric Injuries: The Medical Stakes
When a child is hurt at a trampoline park, it isn’t just a “broken bone.” It is a disruption of their biological development.
Salter-Harris Growth Plate Fractures
Because children’s bones are still growing, a break often occurs in the growth plate (the physis). A Salter-Harris fracture at age eight may result in a limb-length discrepancy that isn’t fully visible until age fourteen. If the park’s insurance company offers you a “quick settlement” to pay the ER bill, they are trying to buy your silence before the true extent of the damage is known.
SCIWORA and Cervical Trauma
Children have highly flexible spines, allowing for a condition called SCIWORA (Spinal Cord Injury Without Radiographic Abnormality). A child can sustain a permanent cord injury that doesn’t show up on a standard CT scan in the ER. They are sent home with “neck strain” and return days later with neurological decline.
Rhabdomyolysis: The Under-Recognized Emergency
Exertional rhabdomyolysis happens when muscle tissue breaks down and releases myoglobin into the bloodstream, essentially poisoning the kidneys. This follows extended jumping in the high heat and humidity of a Texas summer at an indoor park with poor ventilation. Our firm is currently litigating a $10 million university hazing lawsuit involving rhabdomyolysis. We have the medical experts to document this condition and the institutional accountability to prove the park’s role.
Learn more in our guide to traumatic brain injuries: “The Ultimate Guide to Brain Injury Lawsuits” (GBYAHi5aiEQ).
The Corporate Shell Game: Who Are We Actually Suing?
The park’s name on the building—Sky Zone, Urban Air, or DEFY—is often just a brand. The actual defendant is usually a layered corporate structure designed to hide the money.
- The Operator LLC: The local entity with direct control.
- The Franchisee: The multi-unit owner.
- The Franchisor: The headquarters that sets the (often ignored) safety manuals.
- The Private Equity Parent: National conglomerates like Palladium Equity or Seidler Equity.
We pierce these layers. In the Collins v. Urban Air arbitration, a $15.6 million award was secured partly because the franchisor was held accountable for systemic failure to implement safety changes. We name every responsible party to reach the full insurance tower—primary GL, umbrella, and excess layers. In the national market, we have gone toe-to-toe with Fortune 500 giants like BP, Walmart, and Amazon. The lawyers hired by a trampoline park franchisor don’t intimidate us; we’ve already beaten their peers.
The 48-Hour Evidence Window: Grayson County Urgency
While the Texas statute of limitations usually gives you two years (and more for minors), the “evidence clock” in Grayson County runs much faster.
- Surveillance Video: Most park DVR systems overwrite in as little as 7 to 30 days. If we don’t send a spoliation letter immediately, the footage of the accident—and the monitor’s inattention—will be gone.
- Waiver Metadata: The digital version of the waiver your husband signed might be purged from the kiosk database on a 72-hour rolling cycle.
- Staff Turnover: Trampoline park attendants are often seasonal or temporary employees. We lock in their identities and witness statements before they leave the job.
Our firm issues a comprehensive litigation-hold demand within 24 hours of being retained. We don’t wait for a lawsuit to be filed to stop the destruction of evidence.
Learn about negotiating with insurers: “How to Negotiate a Settlement” (OV0VC5-1CJ8).
Why Van Alstyne Families Choose Attorney911
We represent families, not files. When client Chad Harris said, “You are NOT just some client… You are FAMILY to them,” he was describing the core philosophy of Ralph Manginello and our entire team.
- Federal Court Experience: Ralph Manginello is admitted to the Southern District of Texas and brings federal-level discovery discipline to every Grayson County case.
- Insider Defense Knowledge: Lupe Peña knows the insurer’s playbook. He knows which “friendly adjuster” tactics are being used on you right now.
- Bilingual Representation: Hablamos Español. Lupe Peña habla con usted directamente—sin intérpretes.
- No Upfront Costs: We work on a contingency fee basis. We advance all costs for biomechanical engineers, pediatric specialists, and ASTM safety consultants. You pay nothing unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions for Van Alstyne Parents
Can I sue if I signed the waiver?
Yes. Texas law often voids these waivers for minors under Munoz and for gross negligence under Moriel. A signature on an iPad is the beginning of the legal argument, not the end.
How much is my child’s case worth?
Catastrophic pediatric settlements range from several hundred thousand dollars to $15 million or more, depending on the injury severity, the life-care plan requirements, and the evidence of the park’s reckless conduct.
What if my child was hurt at a birthday party?
If your child was a guest and you didn’t sign a waiver yourself—or if the party host signed for your kid—the waiver’s legal standing is even weaker. Texas law requires the signature of a parent or legal guardian to even begin a waiver defense.
How long do I have to sue?
The Grayson County court will look at the 2-year Texas statute of limitations. For minors, this is often tolled until age 18, but you should never rely on that. Evidence disappears much faster than the legal deadline.
The Path Forward: Justice for Your Family
If your kid came off that mat on a stretcher, or if you’re realizing months later that your child’s leg isn’t growing correctly after a “minor” park fracture, the clock is running.
The parent conglomerate behind that park has risk management teams working right now to protect their margin. You need a team working to protect your child. We have recovered millions for victims of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord trauma. We have litigated against the largest corporations in the world and won.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911 or (888) 288-9911 today. Our offices in Houston and Austin serve as the launch point for Grayson County families seeking federal-standard representation. The consultation is free. The investigation starts now.
Attorney911: We represent the parent at the bedside. We represent the child in the cast. We make them pay.
