Following up on a previous article about 13 children who were injured on an inflatable side, ABC News reports more incidents involving children being injured from inflatables recently. The first of these incidents took place in New Hampshire and involved a two-year-old and a three-year-old were injured when an inflatable bouncy house was caught by a gust of wind and swept up 30 feet into the air. As a result of this incident, both children were hospitalized, one of whom is currently in critical condition.
The second incident took place in Colorado. Again, two children ages 11 and 13 were trapped inside a bouncy house that was swept 30 feet into the air when it was caught by a sudden wind gust. Fortunately, neither child was injured.
According to a 2010 study, 30 children per day were being taken to emergency rooms across the country due to injuries from inflatable attractions like bouncy houses and slides. Many of the recent accidents have taken place outside, and the “common thread” for these accidents seems to be that many operators are either poorly trained or outright careless when up inflatables. Inflatables should always be secured by multiple deep anchor stakes, and they should never be used in windy conditions. Improperly anchored inflatables become surprise hang gliders on windy days.
Every day, we at Terrell • Hogan, represent victims of personal injury and wrongful death as they seek justice, and lawsuits we have pursued have prompted safety changes. However, that came after the incidents, accidents and injuries happened. We believe it is important to try to help prevent injuries and wrongful deaths. One way is to publish information about defective and dangerous products.