Trampolines Linked to Hundreds of Deaths in South Florida

Alexandra Karob-Volpina is a lot like other teenagers. She was an avid gymnast and dancer. She loved showing off her dance skills on video. Unfortunately, life has changed for the worse for Alexandra. She got injured on a trampoline on the Off The Wall Trampoline Park. Someone jumped on her ankle while she was landing. She had to be rushed to the hospital after breaking her ankle.

The incident was two years ago, and Alexandra still has a visible scar. Unfortunately, stories like Alexandra’s are not uncommon. There were 300 calls made from South Florida’s trampoline parks. The paramedics were sent out for at least 70 of those calls.

One call was made after a four-year-old boy sprained his ankle. Another call was for a six-year-old girl was left with severe bleeding after another child jumped on her. Additionally, paramedics were called for a boy in Broward County who fell and bust his head.

William Ruggiero is a personal injury attorney who practices in Fort Lauderdale. He has worked on several lawsuits that people have filed against trampoline parks. He stated that this most common injuries that he sees are head injuries, leg fractures and wrist fractures.

A team of reporters from NBC Miami visited the park last month. They noticed that even though there were safety signs and employees watching, teens were still doing risky flips. The American Academy of Pediatrics did a study in 2016 and found that trampoline parks had 10 times more injuries than four years ago. Parental supervision is the key to keeping everyone safe at the park.

Bethany Evans is the Trampoline Association of Trampoline Parks’ Executive Vice President. She stated that safety is the organization’s top priority. She also stated that the organization is doing everything possible in order to mitigate the risks.

Alexandra stated that the first few months after her injury were hard. She had two surgeries and could not dance. She stated that it was hard to have fun. She also felt bad about everything that her parents had to go through.

Alexandra’s parents sued the Off The Wall Trampoline Park. There are at least 12 other lawsuits against the park. They allege that the supervisors were negligent. However, Off The Wall says that they cannot be held responsible because a waiver was signed.