Trampoline accidents on the up

WorkSafe inspectors have started visiting trampoline parks across New Zealand after a spike in trampoline-related injuries.

The rise began in 2014 following the rapid expansion of the commercial trampoline park industry.

New Plymouth resident Dianna Marsh experienced firsthand just how easily a child can hurt themselves on a tramp.

Her 14-year-old son Samuel broke both bones in his lower leg following an accident at Mega Bounce in New Plymouth in July.

‘‘My husband happened to be videoing it at the time, on the third bounce he went down and snap – the whole bottom of his leg,’’ she said.

‘‘After the bounce he went into the foam pit. He was in the middle of the foam pit and they had to get him out to the side without moving the leg because it had started to puncture the skin.’’

Marsh said she was concerned staff were not adequately trained for the situation.

The manager of Mega Bounce, who asked only to be known as Vanessa, said the facility had been visited by WorkSafe after the accident and had come away satisfied with how they handled the situation.

A three-hour surgery was required to reset the leg and three months later Marsh said her son still required crutches.

‘‘Not only did he get hurt but in the bed next to him in hospital was a younger boy that had a serious injury to the leg caused the day before at the very same place,’’ she said.

‘‘I have heard of many injuries that have happened and been told from emergency department at hospital and orthopaedic doctors that they are seeing more and more injuries happening.

‘‘I think it’s important that these parks are seriously looked at before someone dies from a serious injury.’’

The increase in injuries is reflected in ACC claims: in 2012 there were 6934 claims totalling $2.5 million, compared to 10,814 claims totalling $4.4m in 2015.

WorkSafe estimates there are 33 trampoline parks operating in New Zealand, with five more planned.

WorkSafe spokesman Brett Murray said the organisation wanted to ensure businesses were meeting their obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

‘‘We will be reminding the operators that they have a requirement to notify WorkSafe of health and safety-related incidents,’’ he said.

‘‘We will also be taking a closer look at the designers and installers of these parks to make sure they are all doing everything reasonably practicable to manage the risks for staff and users of the parks.’’

Visits were scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Trampoline park owner Mukesh Dayal said the rising popularity followed trends across the USA and Australia.

Dayal owns Wellington’s Jumperama and said he had spent about $150,000 installing the 300 square-metre park in February.

‘‘The industry didn’t really have any guidelines as such until this all happened and I guess a lot of people were building tramp parks without any guidelines. You end up with people who to some extent make home-made ones.’’

Dayal said Jumperama had already been visited by WorkSafe and inspectors went away satisfied.

‘‘They did give us some recommendations on staffing ratios and so forth,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s like everything, sometimes you get idiots in here that want to do something stupid and try something without going through the processes of warming up.’’

Jumperama has seen four ambulance callouts since opening, according to Dayal, and three were within the first six weeks.

WorkSafe’s actions follow media reports that the frequency of trampoline-related injuries in Christchurch trebled to a total of 300 since two new trampoline parks opened in August.

Fairfax NZ