Wisconsin Trampoline Accident Lawyer

Wisconsin Law and Trampoline Injuries: The Legal Framework

State law, not federal law, decides most trampoline injury claims, and each state's rules differ. This page covers Wisconsin only. For how these claims work in general, see the site's overview of trampoline accident claims. For how another state handles them, see a page such as Iowa trampoline injury law.

Three legal theories usually frame a Wisconsin trampoline case.

The first is premises liability: the duty a person who owns or controls property owes to people lawfully on it. At a commercial trampoline park, paying jumpers are generally treated as visitors the business invited, so the question is whether the operator used reasonable care.

The second is product liability, a claim that a trampoline, net, spring, pad or frame was defective. Such a claim must show a defect and that the defect caused the injury. Whether either element is met depends on the facts.

The third is Wisconsin's recreational-activity immunity in section 895.52 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Under that section, a property owner covered by it owes no "duty to keep the property safe for recreational activities" and no "duty to inspect the property," except as the statute provides. The section's definition of recreational activity reaches "any other sport, game or educational activity." The section lists exceptions, including ones tied to whether the owner charged for the use and to malicious conduct. Those exceptions can decide whether a duty of care exists at all.

Fault is a separate layer. Under section 895.045 of the Wisconsin Statutes, an injured person's own negligence does not automatically end a claim. The rule is explained in the comparative fault section below.

Trampoline Park Injuries, Backyard Accidents, and What Each Scenario Involves

Where the injury happened changes the questions Wisconsin law asks.

At a commercial trampoline park, the operator invites the public in, so the focus is reasonable care. That can include how courts were laid out and maintained, whether safety rules were posted and enforced, and whether staff watched the jumping areas. Negligent supervision is the claim that the people responsible for watching jumpers failed to use reasonable care, for example by letting too many people jump together or mixing very different sizes and ages. Chapter 895 also contains a separate provision for premises "owned or leased by a person who offers facilities to the general public for participation in recreational activities." Under it, a participant "accepts the risks inherent in the recreational activity of which the ordinary prudent person is or should be aware." That conduct is treated as contributory negligence, "to which the comparative negligence provisions of s. 895.045 shall apply." The same provision lists responsibilities that participants have.

Parks usually ask jumpers to sign a participation agreement or release. A waiver or release is a document in which the signer agrees to give up certain claims. Whether a particular release affects a particular claim turns on its wording, the facts and Wisconsin law as courts apply it. The same is true when a parent signed for a child. No general answer fits every signed form.

A backyard trampoline raises a different first question: whether the homeowner falls within section 895.52's immunity or one of its exceptions. Negligent supervision can come up here as well, for instance when a host was watching other people's children.

Defective equipment cuts across both settings. A collapsed frame, a torn mat or a failed enclosure can lead to a product claim, which still requires proof of a defect and causation.

Who May Be Responsible for a Trampoline Injury in Wisconsin

Responsibility follows control: who ran the place, who owned the yard, who made or sold the equipment. Each type of defendant faces a different legal test.

Operators and owners of commercial facilities. The question is whether they used reasonable care toward invited jumpers. That includes the condition of the equipment, the rules and the supervision. The participant-risk provision described above may also shape how fault is shared.

Homeowners and hosts. The analysis usually starts with section 895.52: whether its immunity applies, or whether one of its listed exceptions restores a duty of care.

Manufacturers, distributors and sellers. A product claim asks whether the trampoline or a component was defective and whether the defect caused the injury. Wisconsin has a specific fault rule for these claims, covered below.

Government bodies. A claim tied to a public recreation center, school or other government-run facility may be subject to section 893.80 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Before suing a governmental subdivision or agency, or its officers, officials, agents or employees, the statute requires written notice "within 120 days after the happening of the event giving rise to the claim." The notice must describe the circumstances of the claim and be signed by the party, agent or attorney. It must be served on the body and on the officer, official, agent or employee. The section contains an exception tied to the body's actual notice of the claim, and it limits suit to six months after a notice that the claim has been disallowed.

More than one defendant can share responsibility. A park may use equipment that someone else made, and a homeowner may have bought a trampoline that later failed.

Filing Deadlines and the Notice Rule That Can Affect Your Claim

A statute of limitations is the law's deadline for filing a lawsuit. Once that period runs, the claim may be lost regardless of its merits. Wisconsin's main periods are in section 893.54 of the Wisconsin Statutes:

"(1m) Except as provided in sub. (2m), the following actions shall be commenced within 3 years or be barred: (a) An action to recover damages for injuries to the person, including an action to recover damages for injuries to the person caused or sustained by or arising from an accident involving a motor vehicle. (b) An action brought to recover damages for death caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another."

Subsection (2m) sets two years after the cause of action accrues for a wrongful-death action "arising from an accident involving a motor vehicle." A trampoline death normally does not fall under that subsection, but the distinction exists in the statute.

Children have a separate rule. Under section 893.16 of the Wisconsin Statutes, if the person entitled to sue is under 18 when the cause of action accrues, "the action may be commenced within 2 years after the disability ceases." The statute excepts actions against health care providers, which are not the subject of a trampoline claim against a park, host or manufacturer. Subsection (2) adds that this rule "does not shorten a period of limitation otherwise prescribed."

If a government body is involved, the 120-day written notice in section 893.80 runs separately from the three-year period and comes much sooner.

This page states the deadlines as the statutes do. It does not say how much time any reader has left. When a deadline began to run can depend on facts such as the injured person's age and who owned the property. If you would like to talk through which of these rules may apply to what happened, you can request a case evaluation.

Comparative Fault, Damages, and What Wisconsin Law Allows

Jumpers are often blamed for their own injuries, so the fault rule matters a great deal. Comparative fault means the law divides responsibility among everyone whose negligence caused the injury. Wisconsin's version is in section 895.045(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes:

"Contributory negligence does not bar recovery in an action by any person or the person's legal representative to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or in injury to person or property, if that negligence was not greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought, but any damages allowed shall be diminished in the proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the person recovering."

The injured person's negligence is measured "separately against the negligence of each person found to be causally negligent." A defendant whose share is under 51 percent is liable only for that share. A defendant at 51 percent or more is jointly and severally liable for the damages allowed.

Product claims follow a separate rule in section 895.045(3). If the injured party's share of responsibility "is greater than the percentage resulting from the defective condition of the product," the injured party may not, based on the defect, recover from the manufacturer, distributor, seller or anyone else who placed the product in the stream of commerce.

Damages are what the law may allow, not a prediction. Section 893.54 speaks of damages for injuries to the person, and compensatory damages generally address losses such as medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering, depending on the facts proved. Punitive damages are different. Section 895.043(6) limits only punitive damages, not compensatory damages: they "may not exceed twice the amount of any compensatory damages recovered by the plaintiff or $200,000, whichever is greater." That limit does not apply when the defendant's conduct included operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant to a degree that made safe operation impossible.

Wrongful Death After a Trampoline Accident in Wisconsin

A family facing the loss of someone in a trampoline accident is carrying something no legal rule can measure. Wisconsin law still sets out who may act, and families often want to know that.

Wrongful death is a claim that a death was caused by another's wrongful act, neglect or default. Under section 895.04 of the Wisconsin Statutes, "An action for wrongful death may be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person or by the person to whom the amount recovered belongs." The filing period is three years under section 893.54(1m)(b).

Court notes printed with chapter 895 add points that often matter:

• A decedent "must have had an actionable claim for damages at the time of death" for a wrongful-death cause of action to exist (Miller v. Luther, 1992).
• The Wisconsin cause of action "applies only to deaths caused in Wisconsin" (Waranka v. Wadena Insurance Co., 2014).
• The discovery rule lets these claims accrue when the injury is discovered by the wrongful-death beneficiary, or with reasonable diligence should have been discovered, whichever occurs first (Christ v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2015).

Section 895.031 also provides that if the person who caused the death dies first, the claim is brought against that person's personal representative.

The comparative-negligence rule in section 895.045 applies to actions for "negligence resulting in death," so fault is shared in these cases as well. Which damages a family may seek is governed by section 895.04 as currently written and depends on the facts.

Records and Information That Often Matter in Wisconsin Trampoline Cases

Records turn a painful memory into facts that others can check: who controlled the trampoline, what condition it was in and what the injury involved. If you were hurt, the records that usually matter include:

• Medical records covering the emergency visit, imaging, surgery, therapy and follow-up care.
• Photos and video of the court, the equipment and the injury. This may include footage from a facility's cameras, if it was preserved.
• The trampoline or the failed part, such as a spring, mat, frame or net, along with the receipt, order history, manual and labels.
• Incident reports made with the park or with law enforcement.
• The names and contact details of witnesses, including staff on duty.
• Any participation agreement or release signed at the facility, and any posted rules.
• A copy of any written notice served under section 893.80 when a government body is involved, along with proof of service and any disallowance notice.

Families often keep these together with a written timeline made while memories are fresh. Dates matter here because the 120-day notice, the three-year period and the minor's rule all run from events.