Kids can experience a lot of stress with school and after-school activities. So, to help their children decompress, parents sometimes provide recreational activities for them to do after school or during weekends. A popular activity is trampoline jumping – something children can do in the comfort of their backyard.
Unfortunately, even with such simple equipment, your children can obtain injuries. If you find that the trampoline is faulty, despite following the instructions and installing the equipment correctly, it may entitle you to claim damages.
The type of defect will show who is responsible
In California, there are three categories of product liability. The claimant can determine whom they can sue depending on the product defect, which can be any of the following:
- Design defect: If there is an inherent defect in the product’s design that makes it dangerous to consumers, the designer, architect or engineer can be liable.
- Manufacturing defect: When a manufacturer fails to follow the design accurately, and the product comes out dangerous for use, the victim can hold them responsible for a manufacturing defect.
- Marketing defect: Inherently dangerous products must include adequate instructions and warnings. Otherwise, it can open a product liability case. While it is usually the manufacturers who include the warnings and instructions, some cases demand distributors and retailers to do this task.
For personal injury, the claimant must bring an action within two years of the injury. In property damage cases, the limit is three years of the incident or discovery thereof.
Recreational activities like trampoline jumping are meant to be fun, and no parent expects their child to get injured while doing so. Fortunately, product liability laws protect victims and allow successful claimants to receive damages.