North Texas Mom Says Trampoline Park Staff Seemed Ill-Prepared When Son Injured
GARLAND, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - An Allen family says their experience at an indoor trampoline park raises questions about whether such facilities are adequately prepared to treat injuries.
The visit to Urban Air Adventure Park in Garland for a birthday party on November 16 started out great for Miranda O'Brien and her kids.
But after a fall from the monkey bars, O'Brien's son Cade suffered a nasty cut to his forehead.
"He was bleeding all down his face it was dripping everywhere," she said.
O'Bria\en said she assumed the staff would know how to handle the situation when she approached a manager.
"She was like 'what do you want me to do?' I'm asking for something to contain the blood and they brought me a roll of paper towels from the bathroom," said O'Brien.
The mother says employees eventually found some gauze pads but at that point she wanted paramedics called to treat her son.
"Being a place that you have to sign a waiver, you would think that they would have some type of protocol in place if something like that happens," said O'Brien.
A spokesperson for Urban Air Adventure Park, Carolyn McLean, provided the following statement to CBS 11:
"Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Urban Air Adventure Park and we take matters of this nature very seriously. Our staff receives rigorous training, immediately responded to the guest, and responded in a vigilant manner by first honoring the mother's request for a paper towel. Then, Urban Air administered First Aid as did the local EMS who treated the minor cut. The guest continued to play in the Park afterwards per his mother's permission. Urban Air is a family-friendly adventure park that wholeheartedly believes in a safe environment for both our guests and employees."
There are dozens of indoor trampoline parks all over North Texas that largely go unregulated.
Dallas Attorney John Spillane has filed lawsuits against trampoline parks over injuries to adults and children.
He says liability waivers may not apply to children if their parents sign them.
"The current state of the law in Texas is that an adult cannot waive an injury claim for a minor child," said Spillane.
Trampoline parks, unlike amusement parks, are also not required to carry liability insurance according to the Texas Department of Insurance.