ABC News(TAMPA, Fla.) — A Florida mother is speaking out after her 3-year-old son was injured at an indoor trampoline park, warning other parents in an interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America Wednesday, saying, “No mother, no father, ever wants to see their child the way that we had to see Colton.”
Kaitlin Hill, a nurse from Tampa, Florida, told ABC News that her son, Colton, broke his femur bone and was put in a cast from his waist down after a visit to a local indoor trampoline park in June.
“The pain that he went through, and the pain that he is continuously going through at this point, it’s been a nightmare,” the mother of two added.
Hill posted a photo of Colton in his cast on her Facebook page, with the caption, “As hard as it is to relive the past 12 days, we feel compelled to make other parents aware of the danger associated with indoor trampoline parks.” The post soon went viral, garnering over 240,000 shares since last Friday.
Hill told ABC News that the incident unfolded when her son was jumping normally at the trampoline park, when all of a sudden “his feet hit the mat and almost instantly his knees buckled down, and he just let out the worst scream that you could ever have heard form a child.”
“We took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a left femur fracture, the strongest bone in his little body,” the mother added.
“We learned from our amazing medical team that children of Colton’s age should not have been on a trampoline at all, we were completely shocked to hear this, we had no idea,” Hill said. “My husband and I would have never put our baby boy on a trampoline if we would have known that beforehand.
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Hill said that they were especially shocked because the indoor trampoline park they went to, “specifically advertises for small children, they advertise for toddler time.” She said that she signed a waiver before they started jumping, but she cannot recall exactly what was written on it.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons advised parents in a 2015 position statement on trampoline safety to not allow children younger than 6 years of age to use trampolines. The group also recommended to only allow one participant at a time to use a trampoline.
While it is unclear how many injures are specific to trampoline parks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 2015 there were 107,100 hospital emergency room treated injuries associated with trampolines. They are also aware of a total of 21 deaths in the five-year period between 2009 and 2013.
The park, Skyzone Tampa, told ABC News in a statement, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured child and his family. Guest safety is our top priority and we are investigating how an incident of this nature might have occurred.
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Bethany Evans, executive vice president of the International Association of Trampoline Parks, told ABC News, “We do offer education and training to make sure that individuals responsible for maintaining and operating the parks are qualified to do so.”
Skyzone did not respond when asked if whether or not they plan to continue “toddler time.”
Hill said seeing her son in the cast was “absolutely devastating,” especially knowing that he will not be able to walk for the next six weeks.
She said if she could send a message to the trampoline park, she would say, “They need to make parents aware of the risks.”
Hill said she is sharing her story to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to anyone else’s child.
“I want to prevent even just one family, one child, from having to go through this,” she said. “I would do anything.”
Hill has not filed a lawsuit.
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