Trampoline Accidents: Warning - Your Home Owners Insurance Can Drop You!

You probably don't reaize the dangers and potential financial consequences of owning a trampoline.

First point, kids get hurt on trampoline accidents all the time. In 2006, the Consumer Product Safety Review reported that there were 109,522 injuries caused by a trampoline.  The majority of trampoline-related injuries are sprains and fractures but some injuries can cause paralysis and even death.  One argument that I constantly hear from parents who own trampolines is that they have a safety enclosure around it.  While this might prevent kids from falling off it, it’s not going to prevent most of the injuries.  Some of the most severe trampoline injuries are caused by kids bumping into each other, doing somersaults or hurting themselves on the springs.

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers the following recommendations to avoid trampoline accidents:

·Do not keep a trampoline at home, whether indoors or outdoors, for your children to jump on.

·Make sure your child’s school does not have a trampoline on the playground, as this can pose a serious child safety hazard.

·Use of a trampoline is appropriate only under the direct supervision of trained individuals such as physical therapists or athletic trainers. If used under these conditions, only one person should be on the trampoline at a time.

·Children younger than age 6 should never use a trampoline, even in supervised training programs.

·The surface of a trampoline used for supervised training programs should be checked routinely for rust, tears and detachments.

·A safety pad should cover all portions of the steel frame and springs.

It’s not only the medical community that has serious concerns about trampolines.  Some insurance companies will refuse to provide home owners insurance if you have a trampoline while other might cancel your coverage if they learn you have one on your property.  Still others will write in a “trampoline exclusion” which means that if any injury occurs on the trampoline they will not cover it.   

Bottom line is that the physical risks as well as the potential financial liability make trampolines just not worth having.

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