With summer just around the corner, outdoor birthday parties, carnivals, and street fairs are on the horizon. For kids, bounce houses are often the most exciting part of summer celebrations, but they can pose serious dangers, especially in windy conditions. If your child sustains an injury due to a bounce house accident, knowing who is responsible and who may be liable for paying medical bills can sometimes be a challenge. Below, I’ll outline what you should know about these accidents from a legal perspective. If you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact the personal injury attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates at 1-800-NOW-HURT to learn about your rights.
Are Bounce Houses Dangerous?
On their surface, bounce houses appear relatively harmless especially when compared to their predecessor the trampoline. Their edges are softer, they are often enclosed, and there are no dangerous metal edges or springs that could harm jumping children.
On the other hand, bounce houses are so lightweight that they can easily be blown away by strong winds if they are not properly secured. A study conducted by University of Georgia researchers showed that nearly 500 people were injured and 28 were killed worldwide between 2000-2021. This research is nothing new: a study in Pediatrics magazine in 2012 showed that bounce house injuries had climbed by 15-fold between 1995 and the time of the article’s publication. Between 2008 and 2010, over 30 children per day were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for bounce house-related injuries.
Why Are Bounce House Injuries so Severe?
How serious are bounce house injuries? In 2024, an Alabama picnic became dangerous when a windy thunderstorm swept a bounce house secured to the ground with stakes into the sky. Just a few months prior, a two-year-old in Arizona Was killed when the wind carried a bounce house into a nearby lot. During the same month in California, turbulent weather swept a bounce house off the ground, injuring several kids. In Reno, a 9-year-old was killed in a bounce house accident after sustaining blunt force trauma to the spine. If you live on Long Island, you may recall the 2011 incident where 13 people, including children, were injured at the Long Island Spring Fair when an inflatable slide was picked up by strong gusts of wind.
Not all bounce house-caused injuries are severe, but when you think about how bounce houses function, it makes sense that they can cause fatal accidents.
Common Bounce House Injuries
When a bounce house flips in windy conditions, children can sustain injuries from the impact when it lands, or even become trapped inside. Bounce houses can also potentially get caught in deadly power lines. Not to mention the injuries that happen when multiple children jumping collide, which can result in concussions, lost teeth, and more.
The Pediatrics magazine study mentioned above showed that 43 percent of injuries were related to falls, while the rest resulted from stunts or collisions. 20 percent of all injuries were related to the head and neck, while 27 percent were fractures and 27 percent were sprains or strains.
Not uncommonly, bounce house injuries often result in hospitalization. Hospital stays are incredibly costly, and the expense of examinations, treatment, and ongoing therapy can add up quickly, even if you have insurance. Working with a personal injury attorney serving New York can be helpful in navigating this challenging terrain.
On the upside, there are ways to prevent severe injuries caused by these accidents. Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides a wealth of safety tips to help you keep kids safe when using a bounce house. For starters, sufficient adult supervision is a must, as well as ensuring that the bounce house is properly set up, with stakes inserted firmly into the ground and overlaid with sandbags to keep it in place. If multiple kids will be jumping, it is safest if they are of equal size and weight. Tricks and stunts should also be discouraged.
Do You Need an Attorney?
If your child is injured in a bounce house, getting in touch with a New York personal injury attorney may be in your best interest. They can advise you on how to move forward with a lawsuit if another party’s negligence resulted in your child’s injuries.
The burden of safety is ultimately on the parents who rent the bounce house, but sometimes there are other sources of liability, such as manufacturers of defective products. If your child is injured when a bounce house is punctured, your case may be more complicated.
If you believe your child’s injuries were caused by another party’s carelessness, get in touch with Buttafuoco & Associates. Our experienced team can help you navigate the challenges of this type of case and recover the maximum compensation for medical treatment, pain and suffering, and more.
Call today at 1-800-NOW-HURT.