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    Trampoline park bosses face jail after 11 people left with broken backs

    10:32, 7/11/2023

    Home » News & Knowledge » Trampoline park bosses face jail after 11 people left with broken backs

    Two former bosses of a UK-based trampoline park are facing jail after 11 people broke their backs on a piece of equipment at the attraction.

     

    According to reports, three people fractured their spine on the same day while jumping off a 13ft tower at Flip Out Chester in 2017 – and people were being “injured on a daily basis”.

    NHS chiefs even demanded a meeting with park bosses to discuss safety concerns as injuries happened so frequently, putting local hospital surgeons under ‘unnecessary pressure.’ There is said to have been a total of 270 incidents over a seven-week period from December 2016 to February 2017.

     

    Trampoline park

     

    Bosses, David Shuttleworth and Matthew Melling, both 33, admitted an offence of failing to prevent exposure to risk under the Health and Safety Act at Chester Crown Court.  Shuttleworth, from Barlaston in Staffordshire, resigned from the company in 2018 while Melling, of Spinningfields, Manchester, quit in 2020.

    The company was dissolved last year and Flip Out Chester is now operated by a different franchisee.

    A spokesman for Flip Out, which has 30 centres in the UK, said: ‘The incidents relate to a specific piece of equipment that was immediately closed.  Our systems and procedures have evolved significantly since.’

    Shuttleworth and Melling could face up to two years in prison and a fine when they return to the court. Their sentence was adjourned until a future date for reports to be prepared.

    An investigation by Cheshire West and Chester Council found the business had a ‘total disregard for safety regulations’.

    The council’s cabinet member for homes, planning and safer communities, Christine Warner, said: ‘Injuries in this case included 11 fractured spines, as well as other serious injuries.  Those injured on a daily basis included both adults and children.’

    Cardiac nurse Liza Jones, 26, was one of the three people who broke their back on the same day while plunging from the 13ft tall ‘Tower Jump’ – described at the time by Shuttleworth and Melling as the largest of its kind in the world:

     

    Recalling her ordeal, Liza told Metro news outlet:

    “It was really scary, it was the most pain I’ve suffered in my life.

    “[Hospital doctors] said I had an unstable fracture and one of my vertebrae had burst, which meant I had fragments of bone sticking out that could have paralysed me.

    “I didn’t know how serious it was until then and I was very scared of the operation and of my future.’

    “People visiting these centres may feel they’re safe because they’ve got rules for people to follow, but that’s just not true. The firms that are running them need to learn from this and ensure they’ve got proper health and safety in place.”

     

    Health and safety law states that organisations must assess risks to employees, customers, partners and any other people who could be affected by their activities and arrange for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of preventive and protective measures.

     

    Paul McMullan, Senior Paralegal at Oakwood Solicitors said:

    “It is horrifying to think that an establishment with so many serious, life-changing injuries remained open for so long.  Following the finding of the Court it is clear those responsible had a clear disregard for the public’s safety. We should feel safe in the belief that these venues have been tried, tested, and deemed safe. 

    “What happened here goes beyond the test of reasonable risk to be expected. Yes, we must accept in such a venue there is a risk we take on by participating, but no one would expect reasonably expect to sustain such catastrophic injuries like those reported. 

    “It is clear this apparatus was not safe, had not been appropriated/or at all tested and no risk assessment had taken place. To me, it is clear they are in breach of the Occupiers Liability Act and Consumer Protection Act.”

     

    Further reading

    Accidents in public places – Oakwood Solicitors

     

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    Meet the author

    Paul McMullan is Head of the Employers' and Public Liability Department and joined Oakwood Solicitors in 2010. Paul represents his clients in a wide range of cases, including complex claims and catas…

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