You have likely seen a large inflatable castle in your neighborhood on a typical weekend. These inflatable bounce houses tend to be towards the top of the party essentials list for children. However, these products can be more dangerous than you would expect.

One of the major problems with bounce houses is that parents lack control over their children’s behavior while in a bounce house. Generally, bounce houses do not permit adults to enter, or are crowded with children. Children can receive injuries ranging from cuts and sprains to concussions and broken cones from rough play.

The number of bounce house related injuries has greatly increased over the past decades, from about 1,000 per year in 1995 to over 11,000 per year in 2010. Although only 3% of these injuries required hospitalization a large percentage of bounce house injuries require medical treatment. In some extreme cases children have died as a result of hitting their heads on hard surfaces. Most of those injured are very young; one third are five or younger.

Another issue with bounce houses is that they can easily collapse and can be moved by high winds. When bounce houses collapse children can be hurt by hitting the hard ground. When strong winds kick up bounce houses can be blown into dangerous locations.

Bounce houses are definitely a source of product liability for manufacturers. When a consumer is injured by using a product in the manner it was intended to be used the manufacturer can be liable for injuries. In some cases a manufacturer can be sued to recover the costs for medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages arising from the use of a bounce house.

Source: Washington Times, American Scene: Injuries from Bounce House Soar Over Past 15 Years, Nov. 25, 2012.