Arkansas Trampoline Accident Lawyer

Which Arkansas Rules May Apply to a Trampoline Injury?

Where a trampoline injury fits legally usually starts with two questions: where the trampoline was, and who controlled it. Those answers point to one or more of three bodies of Arkansas law, and each can change whether a family has a claim at all.

Premises liability is the area of law that asks whether the owner or operator of a property used reasonable care toward the people on it. It is the usual starting point for an injury at a trampoline park or on someone else's property. Whether an owner owed a duty, failed to meet it, and caused the harm turns on what actually happened, such as how the area was kept and who was watching.

Recreational-use immunity is a rule that protects some landowners who let the public use their land for recreation. Section 18-11-305 of the Arkansas Code, published on the Arkansas Code public-access site, applies to "an owner of land who, either directly or indirectly, invites or permits without charge any person to use his or her property for recreational purposes." Such an owner does not thereby extend any assurance that the premises are safe, does not give the visitor "the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed," and does not assume liability for injury caused by the visitor's own acts or by "any natural or artificial condition, structure, or personal property on the land." This protection is not absolute: it applies "except as specifically recognized by or provided in § 18-11-307." What section 18-11-307 provides depends on Arkansas's current law as that section reads.

Product liability is the third framework. It concerns injuries said to come from a defective product, such as a trampoline frame, mat, spring or enclosure. Arkansas sets a separate filing period for these actions, covered in the deadlines section below.

For a parent, the practical effect is this: if a homeowner who let a child jump without charge falls within section 18-11-305, a premises claim against that homeowner may be limited, while a product claim against the maker is a separate question. The first facts worth gathering are simple ones: whether admission was paid, who owned and ran the place, and whether the equipment itself is in question.

Was the Trampoline Injury at a Paid Park, a Backyard, or Caused by Broken Equipment?

The setting of the accident often decides which framework matters most.

At a commercial trampoline park, guests usually pay to jump. The immunity in section 18-11-305 is written for owners who permit recreational use "without charge," so a paid visit sits outside the situation that section describes on its face. Claims from park injuries tend to turn instead on premises liability: how courts, foam pits, ladders and dodgeball areas were laid out, maintained and staffed. Negligent supervision, meaning a failure to watch over or control activity with reasonable care, is one premises theory that can arise where staff are responsible for monitoring jumpers. The site's page on trampoline park injury claims and its page on foam pit injuries cover those mechanics in more depth.

A backyard trampoline at a private home raises different questions. Where a homeowner lets neighbors or friends' children jump without charge, whether section 18-11-305 reaches that use, and whether any exception in section 18-11-307 applies, can turn on details of the visit, such as whether anything was paid, and on how Arkansas courts read those sections. For a family hurt at a friend's house, that can decide whether a premises claim goes anywhere.

Equipment failure is the third scenario. A frame that bends, a mat that tears, a spring that snaps or a net that gives way can point toward a product liability claim, which can exist alongside a premises claim against whoever owned the trampoline. A failure on its own does not prove a defect; that question rests on evidence about the product.

In short, a paid park visit may take the immunity question off the table, while a backyard injury or broken equipment can make an admission receipt, or the trampoline itself, more important than it first seems.

Who May Be Responsible When a Child or Adult Is Hurt on a Trampoline?

Whom a claim could be brought against usually follows control. A park or homeowner that controlled the property is one kind of potential defendant; a company that designed, made or sold the trampoline is another. The law measures each one differently.

A park owner or operator is examined under premises liability: what care it took with the space, the equipment it put out and the supervision it provided to paying guests. A homeowner is examined the same way, subject to the recreational-use rule discussed above.

If the trampoline itself failed, a manufacturer or seller may be examined under product liability. Here the focus is less on how the property was run and more on the product: whether it was defective and whether that defect caused the injury. A landowner's duty concerns the premises; a manufacturer's concerns what it put into the market.

Several parties can share responsibility, and the injured person's own conduct can be weighed too. Whether any party breached a duty can turn on specifics, such as whether staff were posted at a court or whether a part was already worn. That weighing is called comparative fault, explained in the next section.

Naming only one party can leave another source of recovery out of the picture. Families often note who owned the trampoline, who ran the facility, who sold or installed the equipment, and who was supervising at the time; an attorney can help sort out which of them may be responsible.

Does a Jumper's Own Fault Reduce or Bar Recovery in Arkansas?

Section 16-64-122 of the Arkansas Code applies "in all actions for damages for personal injuries or wrongful death or injury to property in which recovery is predicated upon fault," except as section 16-118-109 provides. In those actions, the injured person's fault is compared with the fault of the parties being sued. The statute then sets two outcomes:

"(1) If the fault chargeable to a party claiming damages is of a lesser degree than the fault chargeable to the party or parties from whom the claiming party seeks to recover damages, then the claiming party is entitled to recover the amount of his or her damages after they have been diminished in proportion to the degree of his or her own fault. (2) If the fault chargeable to a party claiming damages is equal to or greater in degree than any fault chargeable to the party or parties from whom the claiming party seeks to recover damages, then the claiming party is not entitled to recover such damages."

In practice, an injured jumper found less at fault still recovers, but the award shrinks by that share. At the point where the jumper's fault matches or passes the other side's, the award disappears entirely. That line matters a great deal when a park says a jumper attempted a flip, ignored a posted rule or jumped with others on one court.

"Fault" in this statute reaches widely. It "includes any act, omission, conduct, risk assumed, breach of warranty, or breach of any legal duty which is a proximate cause of any damages." The words "risk assumed" are worth noticing for anyone who signed a waiver or release, a document in which a participant agrees to accept risks or give up certain claims. How Arkansas law treats a particular waiver turns on its language and on Arkansas law beyond this section; the comparative fault statute does not itself say whether such a document ends a claim. The site's page on trampoline park waivers explains how these documents are built.

Where a jury decides how fault is divided, its answers control, and the statute allows counsel to argue to the jury the effect of those answers on comparative fault.

Filing Deadlines Under Arkansas Law — and What Changes for Minors and Product Claims

A statute of limitations is the law that sets how long someone has to start a lawsuit. Arkansas has more than one, and which applies turns on the type of claim. For a family, this is the rule that can close the door on an otherwise strong case.

For product liability, section 16-116-203 of the Arkansas Code states: "All product liability actions shall be commenced within three (3) years after the date on which the death, injury, or damage complained of occurs." The period runs from the date of the death, injury or damage itself.

For children and young adults, section 16-56-116 of the Arkansas Code adds time. If a person entitled to bring an action "is under twenty-one (21) years of age or insane at the time of the accrual of the cause of action, that person may bring the action within three (3) years next after attaining full age, or within three (3) years next after the disability is removed." Two conditions apply. A person can rely on a disability only if it "existed at the time the right of action accrued." And when two or more disabilities exist at that time, the limitation period does not attach "until all the disabilities are removed." For an injured child, this can mean the claim remains open well after the accident.

Arkansas's general three-year statute, section 16-56-105, lists actions on contracts, unwritten obligations, unpaid rent, trespass on lands, libel and taking or injuring goods. Which period governs a personal-injury claim that is not a product claim depends on Arkansas's current law, available through the Arkansas Code public-access site.

A claim filed too late can be lost regardless of its merits. Working out which period applies, and when it began, can turn on the date of injury, the injured person's age and the type of claim. A parent of an injured child, or an adult who was hurt as a teenager, may want to talk through these dates with our attorney.

What Records May Help Show What Happened

Evidence is how the questions above get answered: whether there was a defect, whether a duty was breached, what caused the injury and what it has cost. Records kept now can shape how those questions are answered later, since conditions change and memories fade.

Medical records documenting the injury, diagnosis and treatment over time bear on both causation and damages. For head injuries in particular, the site's page on trampoline head injuries describes how these injuries are documented.

Incident or accident reports made at the park or property often record who was present, what staff observed and what was said soon after the fall. Photos and video of the court, mat, springs, pads, foam pit or backyard setup, and of the injury itself, can show conditions that later change.

Where a defect is in question, the trampoline itself, or its broken parts, can be central. Purchase records, the manual, labels and packaging help identify who made and sold it. Under the comparative fault rule, details about what the injured person was doing, any posted rules, and any signed document may all be weighed.

Injured people and families often keep the names and contact details of other jumpers, parents and staff who saw what happened. An attorney can review what has been kept and help identify which records bear on which question.

Wrongful Death After a Trampoline Accident in Arkansas

Losing a child or another family member in a trampoline accident leaves questions no family expects to face. Arkansas answers several of them in one statute, including who may bring the claim and how long the family has.

Wrongful death is a claim brought after a death caused by someone else's wrongful act, neglect or default. Under section 16-62-102 of the Arkansas Code, the claim exists where the conduct "would have entitled the party injured to maintain an action and recover damages" had the person lived.

The action "shall be brought by and in the name of the personal representative of the deceased person. If there is no personal representative, then the action shall be brought by the heirs at law." It must be commenced "within three (3) years after the death," with a longer period against a person convicted of capital, first-degree or second-degree murder. If a nonsuit, a voluntary dismissal, is entered, the action must be brought again within one year from that date.

The beneficiaries are the surviving spouse, children, father, mother, brothers and sisters, plus people who stood in loco parentis, meaning in the place of a parent, to the deceased, and people to whom the deceased stood in that role. The jury or court may fix damages as "fair and just compensation for pecuniary injuries," including a spouse's loss of services and companionship and mental anguish to the surviving spouse and beneficiaries, which includes "grief normally associated with the loss of a loved one." For a grieving family, that means the law recognizes grief itself, not only financial loss. No part of a recovery is subject to the deceased's debts, and the judge fixes each beneficiary's share unless a jury apportions it at a party's request.