Delaware Trampoline Accident Lawyer

How Delaware Law Looks at a Trampoline Injury

Whatever the setting, a trampoline injury claim usually comes down to four questions: whether someone owed the injured person a duty of care, whether they breached it, whether that breach caused the injury, and what harm followed.

The theory that fits usually follows from what went wrong. If the problem was a condition on the property, the claim is typically premises liability: that the person who owns or controls the property failed to use reasonable care about conditions on it. If the equipment itself seemed to fail, the claim is typically product liability: that a product, such as a trampoline, a net enclosure or a spring pad, was defective and that the defect caused the injury. If no one seemed to be watching, the claim may be negligent supervision: that someone responsible for watching jumpers, such as a park's staff, failed to use reasonable care in doing so.

Delaware also has a recreational-use statute that can matter in backyard and open-land settings. Under section 5903 of Title 7 of the Delaware Code, except as section 5906 provides, "an owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous condition." The chapter defines "land" to include "structures, and machinery or equipment when attached to the realty," and "owner" to include a tenant, occupant or "person in control of the premises." Its list of recreational purposes "includes, but is not limited to" activities such as swimming, camping and hiking; trampolining is not named.

That limit has firm edges. Section 5906 says nothing in the chapter limits liability "for wilful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition," or "for injury suffered in any case where the owner of land charges the person or persons who enter or go on the land for the recreational use thereof." A trampoline park that charges admission is in a different position from a free yard, though whether the statute applies turns on its facts.

Put simply, whether someone paid to jump can change whether the owner's duty was limited at all. Whether admission was charged, and what appeared to go wrong, are the two points that tend to shape which theory and which rules come into view first.

Where the Accident Happened: Parks, Backyards and Equipment Failures

The setting shapes which questions decide a claim.

At a commercial trampoline park, the guest has usually paid to jump. That payment is a "charge" in the words of section 5906, which describes "the admission price or fee asked in return for invitation or permission to enter." A park injury claim generally asks how the operator ran the space: the condition of the beds, pads and foam pits, how many jumpers were on a court at once, and how staff watched them. The site's page on trampoline park injury claims explains the elements in more depth, and the guide to foam pit injuries covers one setting that comes up often.

Most parks ask guests, or a parent for a child, to sign a waiver or release, meaning a document in which the signer agrees to give up certain claims. Whether a particular Delaware release affects a particular claim depends on its exact words, who signed it, the facts of the injury and current Delaware law. The site's page on trampoline park waivers explains what these documents typically contain.

In a backyard, the question is what duty a homeowner owed the person who was hurt, and the recreational-use statute may be part of that answer. Section 5904 of Title 7 says an owner who invites or permits someone "without charge" to use property for recreational purposes does not thereby "confer upon such person the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed," again subject to section 5906.

A product failure is a separate basis for a claim. When the equipment itself is alleged to have caused the injury, the theories are usually a design defect, a manufacturing defect or a failure to warn. A torn mat or a broken frame does not prove a defect; that question turns on evidence about the product.

In practice, a paid park visit, a free backyard visit and a broken product each lead to different questions, and a signed release may be part of the picture in only one of them.

Who May Be Responsible for Your Injury

Who might answer for an injury depends on who controlled the place and the equipment.

At a park or on someone's property, the people who controlled the space, the staff and the rules are the usual focus, under premises liability and negligent supervision. That is not limited to the titleholder: a landlord, tenant or other "person in control of the premises" can also be an owner under the Title 7 definition. If the trampoline or a part failed, the manufacturers, importers, distributors and sellers are the usual focus under product liability. More than one of these may be involved in the same accident.

A public trampoline program or a county or town facility raises different rules. Under section 4011 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code, "except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, all governmental entities and their employees shall be immune from suit on any and all tort claims." Section 4012 lists exceptions, including negligence in a governmental entity's "ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle, special mobile equipment, trailer, aircraft or other machinery or equipment, whether mobile or stationary."

Where a claim is permitted, section 4013 sets two rules. Damages, including costs, against a political subdivision and its employees "shall not exceed $300,000 for any and all claims arising out of a single occurrence," except that if the subdivision buys liability insurance above $300,000, the limit is the amount of that coverage. And a political subdivision "may enact a notice requirement by ordinance, so long as said notice requirement does not bar suit if notice is given within 1 year of occurrence." This limit applies only to political subdivisions; it is not a cap on claims against a private park, homeowner or manufacturer.

One city has its own rule. Under section 8124 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code, no action may be brought against the Mayor and Council of Wilmington for negligence causing physical injuries or death unless the Mayor is notified in writing, within 1 year from the happening of the injury, "of the time, place, cause and character of the injuries sustained."

The type of defendant can change the rules: a public body brings immunity, a damages limit and possible notice requirements that a private park or homeowner does not. Who owned or ran the facility, whether a county, town or Wilmington was involved, and who made or sold the equipment are the details that sort this out.

Partial Fault and the Filing Period for a Delaware Claim

A statute of limitations is the law that sets how long a person has to file a lawsuit. Delaware's period for personal injuries is in section 8119 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code: "No action for the recovery of damages upon a claim for alleged personal injuries shall be brought after the expiration of 2 years from the date upon which it is claimed that such alleged injuries were sustained; subject, however, to the provisions of § 8127 of this title."

Two features of that sentence matter. The clock is tied to the date the injuries are claimed to have been sustained, which for most trampoline accidents is the day of the fall or collision. And the period is subject to section 8127, so how it applies can depend on that section's terms. Section 8117 of the same chapter adds that when a defendant is out of the state, the time of that absence may not count. A wrongful-death claim has its own 2-year period, covered below.

Comparative fault is the rule for what happens when the injured person is said to share some of the blame. Delaware's version, in section 8132, provides that the plaintiff's contributory negligence "shall not bar a recovery by the plaintiff or the plaintiff's legal representative where such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendant or the combined negligence of all defendants against whom recovery is sought, but any damages awarded shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff."

In plain terms, a jumper who attempted a flip or ignored a posted rule is not automatically shut out. Fault is compared against the defendant, or all defendants together, and any award is reduced by the injured person's share. Because the rule turns on whose share is greater, the way fault is divided can shape a case as much as the injury does.

The date of the accident and any facts about the injured person's own conduct, such as the jump attempted or the rules posted, are two details that bear directly on both rules.

Evidence That Often Matters in a Delaware Trampoline Injury Case

Each element described above is proved with records and objects. Conditions change and items get thrown away, so what is kept can decide how well duty, breach, causation and damages can be shown.

Medical records documenting the injury and treatment, from the first emergency visit onward, are usually central. The site's page on trampoline head injuries describes how those injuries are documented. Incident or accident reports made at the park or property often record the time, the court or area, and what staff noted.

Photographs and video can show conditions that later change: at a park, the court, pads, foam pit and posted rules; in a backyard, the trampoline, its springs, net and the ground around it. In a product case, the trampoline or part itself, along with the purchase receipt, order history, packaging, warnings and assembly instructions, is often central, because a defect question is answered by examining the product.

Names and contact information of witnesses, such as other jumpers, parents, staff or neighbors, help reconstruct what happened. Any waiver or release signed at the time of the visit, including an electronic copy or confirmation email, matters too, since its exact words and who signed it bear on what it may mean.

After a serious injury, gathering papers can feel like one more burden, but having them in one place can make a conversation about the case more focused. Families who want to talk through which records connect to which questions may consider requesting a case evaluation.

When a Family Has Lost Someone: Wrongful Death in Delaware

When a trampoline accident takes a life, often a child's, the family is left to make legal decisions while grieving. Delaware's statutes set out who those decisions belong to and on what timeline.

Wrongful death is a claim brought because a death was caused by another's wrongful act, which Delaware defines as "an act, neglect or default" that would have let the injured person sue had death not ensued. Under section 3724 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code, the action "shall be for the benefit of the spouse, parent, child and siblings of the deceased person," and if there are none, "for the benefit of any person related to the deceased person by blood or marriage." "Only 1 action" lies for a death. Section 8107 provides that no action for wrongful death "shall be brought after the expiration of 2 years from the accruing of the cause of such action."

Section 3724 directs the court or jury to fix an award that "will fairly compensate for the injury resulting from the death," and lists factors it may consider. Each connects to a loss a family may be living with:

• Expected pecuniary benefits. The financial support the family would have received had the person lived.
• Parental, marital and household services. The everyday care and work the person provided, including the reasonable cost of care for minor children who have lost a parent.
• Funeral expenses. Reasonable funeral costs, not to exceed $7,000 or the amount designated in section 5546(a) of Title 29, whichever is greater.
• Mental anguish. The grief of the surviving spouse and next of kin, limited to named relatives in a set order, so not every relative may claim it.

Punitive damages may be awarded only if the death "was maliciously intended or was the result of reckless, wilful or wanton misconduct," in a separate finding. Section 3725 states the purpose: recovery of "damages not limited to pecuniary losses." In plain words, the law recognizes that a family's loss is not only financial.

Because only one action lies for a death, families often find it useful to discuss together which relatives the claim is for and when the 2-year period may run, and to keep records of funeral costs and lost support that bear on the listed factors.