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With child bouncy castle injuries rising, who is responsible?

Article by Personal Injury Team

Accidents involving bouncy castles are not uncommon, a recent government survey estimated that bouncy castles caused between 2,500 and 3,000 injuries each year.

(source - times online)

Children under 18 years of age, have 3 years from the date of their 18th birthday in which to make a personal injury claim. The following short article explains the recent case of a bouncy castle injury claim and gives advice if you're thinking of hiring one.

The recently decided case of Samuel Harris v Timothy Perry (1) Catherine Perry (2) David Harris (3) [2008] EWCH 990 (QB) has caused a stir and made the national news.

The facts of the case are: Mr and Mrs Perry were holding a birthday party for their children in a playing field behind their house and they had hired a bouncy castle and a bungee run. The Claimant had not been invited to the party, but was attending a football training session nearby and following this had joined in the fun. He suffered a severe brain injury when playing on the bouncy castle. An older and heavier boy's heel accidentally struck the Claimant's head as the older boy performed a somersault on the bouncy castle.

The Claimant case was based on the fact that the Defendant owed a duty of care to the Claimant and this duty of care had been breached.

The Court decided that Mr and Mrs Perry were liable for the following reasons:

• They had granted permission to the Claimant to use the bouncy castle;
• They failed to provide adequate and continuous supervision;
• They failed to prevent a much larger child from playing with smaller children;
• These failures resulted in a serious injury to the Claimant.

Compensation is expected to be around £1million, paid for by Mr and Mrs Perry's home insurers.

Useful guidance for anyone hiring a bouncy castle

If you are considering hiring an attraction such as a bouncy castle or a bungee run please consider the following points:

• You must ensure that the children are adequately and continuously supervised;
• Take action to prevent children of different ages and sizes from playing on a bouncy castle at the same time;
• Do not let children do somersaults or play boisterously on the equipment;
• Stay in control of who is using the equipment and what they are doing;
• Refer to the terms of any hire agreement or speak to the hirer of the equipment before use to ensure that you comply with safety guidelines and no accidents occur;
• Check your home insurance policy and ensure that you are covered in the event that an accident does occur. If not, you may need to purchase extra cover.

Child Accident and Injury claims

If you or your child has been injured in an accident recently, Ascot Lawyers specialise in personal injury claims and would be happy to discuss the circumstances of your accident and the process of making a claim with you.

Adults over 18 years of age are permitted 3 years in which to bring a claim and this runs from the date of the accident or the date of knowledge, which ever is later. Children under 18 years of age have a 3 year period in which to make a claim and this runs from the date of their 18th birthday.

In order to be successful you must be able to prove that someone else was at fault for the accident and injury. If this can be established, you may be able to make a claim for the following and more:

• Personal injury
• Medication costs
• Medical treatment fees
• Travel expenses
• Care and assistance
• Loss of earnings

Please contact a member of the personal injury team on 01344 783 890 and we will be happy to discuss the individual circumstances of your case and assist you further.

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