Bouncy castles - a short cut to being sued

Adrian Witt, Personal Injury Partner
email: a.witt@waldrons.co.uk

Reports in the press this week about parents who hired a bouncy castle for the birthday party of their triplets being successfully sued by a boy injured by another boy on the castle may well have people thinking twice about whether or not to hire such inflatables for parties.

The Court in the case in question decided that the parents holding the party had failed to provide suitable supervision for the children using the bouncy castle. In particular a 15 year old boy had been allowed to use the bouncy castle at the same time as the injured boy, who was only 11 and was described in the Court report as being about a foot shorter.

Guidelines issued by the hirer for the Bouncy Castle, as well as from BIHA (British Inflatable Hirer’s Association) made it clear that certain safety precautions should be taken at all times. It was important that a responsible adult should supervise at all times, that it was important to ensure that large children and small children avoid using the inflatable at all times and also that there should be no summersaults or back flips allowed.

In the case in question, the Court decided that the parents hiring the bouncy castle had failed to supervise it properly, that they had allowed the larger boy to use the bouncy castle with the younger, smaller boy and that the combination of factors had led to the accident and the finding against the parents.

The parents sued in the case were insured in relation to the case highlighting the vital importance of having proper insurance for just such an eventuality.

For people wondering however whether to cancel the bouncy castle hired for their child’s birthday party, they should be reassured by the Court’s specific findings in this case.

It is clear that there should be proper supervision of the inflatable. Some accidents are unavoidable, happening in a split second and no level of supervision can prevent them. However, with appropriate supervision the risk of such accidents can be minimised.

Secondly, by ensuring that the inflatable is not overcrowded and more importantly by ensuring that only children of a similar size us the inflatable at any given time, the risk of injury and therefore the risk of being sued will be dramatically reduced.

The world has not therefore come to an end and taken leave of its senses. Following the guidelines of the reputable hirer together with the BIHA can allow parents and children to enjoy using inflatables safely and without fear of ending up in Court.