As inflatable bouncers have become increasingly popular among small children and their parents, their safety record has racked up more serious injuries at a steadily faster rate. This week, a prominent pediatric medical journal reported that bouncer-related injuries became 15 times more common in the years between 1995 and 2010. The study's authors recommend a number of measures to try to prevent child injuries.
According to the study, children often received potentially serious traumatic brain injuries, as well as spinal cord injuries and bone fractures. Many children get hurt by crashing into each other while jumping together - despite warnings from some manufacturers that only one child should jump at a time. Other dangers involved children performing stunts or falling off the cushioned surface and onto the ground.
Depending on the situation, parents might have several options when a child suffers an injury on an inflatable bouncer. There are some indications that product defects are involved in some injuries. Manufacturers can be liable for selling defective products in several ways. In addition to manufacturing errors that result in a broken product, some product designs are inherently defective because they are unsafe for public use. A product can also be defective if it does not include enough instructions or warnings to tell consumers how to use it safely.
Since bouncers are intended for small children who often cannot read or interpret warning labels, parents might have a responsibility to supervise kids. If a supervising adult negligently allowed a child to ignore safety warnings, he or she might be responsible for an injury.
Numerous factors could affect liability in cases like this - parents should talk to an experienced California personal injury lawyer to explore every option on behalf of an injured child.
Source: Forbes, " Inflatable Bouncer-Related Injuries Sharply Increase in the U.S.," Robert Glatter, MD, Nov. 26, 2012