Indoor play centre fined a second time after boy falls 4m suffering nightmare injuries
An indoor play centre has been fined a second time in court after a boy fell 4m suffering nightmare injuries, but says safety is its number one priority.
An indoor trampoline and climbing wall centre has been fined a second time over an incident where an 11-year old boy fell four metres breaking his sternum.
The boy and his two friends were using the climbing wall area at Bounce Australia’s indoor play centre in Geelong in 2022.
The boy and one of his friends raced each other up a wall, but in his excitement did not notice the auto-belay was retracted at the top of the wall.
He mistakenly thought he was clipped in when he pressed the timer button and pushed himself off the top of the wall.
Instead of being slowly lowered by the system he fell four metres fracturing his sternum and injuring his back.
A WorkSafe investigation found Bounce did not have systems in place to ensure customers were adequately supervised in the climbing area or had been advised of the safety rules before entering.
WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said what had been a fun day out turned into an absolute nightmare for the boy and his family.
“They should have been able to rely on Bounce to ensure there was proper supervision and instruction for the activities on offer,” he said.
“Expecting members of the public, particularly children, to perform a high-risk task without adequate supervision or a safety briefing was a recipe for disaster.
“Ensuring patrons are appropriately supervised, briefing customers on how to safely use equipment and ensuring children are accompanied by a parent or guardian are simple steps duty holders should take to ensure they manage the inherent risks involved in indoor adventure activities.”
Bounce executive director Ant Morell said they genuinely cared for the health and wellbeing of the child involved in the accident at their Geelong venue two years ago.
“Any injury is distressing for the customer and staff involved,” he said.
“Safety is, and always has been, our number one priority as the business.
“Injury prevention and response training is part of a comprehensive safety management system that is in turn part of our commitment to set the standard for safety in our industry.”
Mr Morell said at the time of the accident, Bounce was compliant with safety standards governing the climbing wall features, and implemented additional measures after the incident.
“Subsequent to the implementation of these measures, there has been no significant injuries in the climbing area at any of the 24 venues throughout Australia,” he said.
Mr Morell said about 2.5 million people visited Bounce each year.
“The ongoing popularity of the businesses depends on thousands of parents, schoolteachers and care givers being comfortable each week that Bounce is a safe and worthwhile activity for young people, and we take the trust we have earned very seriously,” he said.
“We aim to be a loved and trusted member of the communities we are part of. We see our positive community impact as going way beyond just an active entertainment venue.”
The company pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to ensure people other than employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety in March this year.
Bounce was fined $12,500 without conviction in the Geelong Magistrates Court.
But the original sentence was set aside last week with the County Court ordering Bounce to pay a fine of $40,000 without conviction, more than three times the original amount.
They were also ordered to pay $5,557 in costs.
The court found Bounce could implement a number of safety measures to avoid people from injuring themselves including a supervision ratio of one employee to 15 customers.
The court also found the company could prevent entry to the climbing wall area to children aged under 12 that were unaccompanied, and made sure a parent or guardian were present during safety briefings.