ACC gives safety warning over use of trampolines
ACC is asking parents to ensure their kids’ trampolines are safe, and they are playing safely together, after a 9-year-old fractured her leg.
Christchurch mum Kate Rutherford said her daughter, Maya, is still having issues two years after the accident.
It happened when Maya’s babysitter joined her and older brother Alexander on the family trampoline before bedtime, and double bounced her.
‘‘One minute she was having fun, and the next she was flying in the air and with the trampoline mat being tight she came down hard – it was like landing on concrete,’’
Rutherford said.
Last year, ACC accepted 12,669 claims for trampolinerelated injuries. This came at a cost of $10.6 million – the highest cost in the past 10 years.
Falls are the leading cause of trampoline-related injuries – 95 per cent – and include falling off the tramp onto the ground, onto the trampoline itself, or through the safety net or springs.
ACC said other causes of injury include colliding with others, landing on objects on the trampoline, or jumping from a tree or a fence onto a trampoline.
The most common injuries are a sprained ankle (12 per cent) and a sprained neck (8 per cent). Fractures occurred in 80 per cent of trampoline-related hospital admissions.
Although first thought to be a sprain, a trip to hospital the next day revealed a fractured left leg
and damaged growth plate, which required corrective surgery.
Two years later, Maya requires one, maybe two, further surgeries to correct the injury her parents hope has not caused long-term damage.
‘‘We try to make sure that there is always a parent around to supervise . . .because many of these incidents are preventable if we take a bit more care,’’ Rutherford said.
It is a sentiment shared by ACC injury prevention leader, Kirsten Malpas. ‘‘Many of these accidents are preventable.
‘‘We want wha¯ nau all over Aotearoa to have fun . . . and to play safely on their trampolines without injury.’’
Malpas said families with older model trampolines should ensure they have pads covering the springs and metal frames. Parents should also take their time to ensure the trampoline is in a safe place to avoid injury.
WorkSafe issued new safety guidance and inspected the country’s trampoline parks in 2016.