To think the Flip Out waiver is ridiculous

[PenguinRoar]

DS has been invited to a party there.

Apparently, I need to sign to indemnify them against loss if my son injures himself there and give them the irrevocable right to take and use images of him in any pictures, videos etc. And to read the full terms and conditions (that you are agreeing to) you then have to go to their website as well...

The TandCs are full of weasely legal jargon that would not pass for plain English anywhere, placing responsibility on under 18 year olds to take full responsibility for their behaviour at all times.

Rather than making me feel like they take their responsibilities of creating and managing their environment safely, this document makes me think it's an unmanaged death trap.

The photography waiver is completely unnecessary as is the compulsory opt in to future mailings/marketing. Perhaps both are also contravening data protection too...

I've read a few articles here and in the news about this chain; none very good.

I get that trampolining can have risks, but if you're running a centre for young people, surely Flip Out should demonstrate that they are responsible business owners.

Now, I don't want DS to go and that's a huge shame for him to miss out.

you know the risks of you leave him go. They do their best to minimise the risks by having plenty of staff and using a safety video. They can't be liable for every injury sustained, they'd be open a week before they got sued into no -existence. Of course you have to sign the waiver if you want to jump. It's standard procedure.

They let DC go unaccompanied from age 12 upwards, so of course they need to be responsible for their behaviour. They'll be told to leave if they transgress repeatedly, with no recourse and that is exactly how it should be.

You can send a paper consent form (or at least I think you still can) which you can annotate if you do not consent to things like photos. But if your DC really cannot be photographed, then no he cannot go. But I've never seen any official Flip Out photographers there, so unless there is a compelling reason I'd chance it.

Also, the injury one is standard for all sports where it is possible to be injured through no fault of the centre running it or their staff. You would still be able to bring a case if there were negligence.

I wouldn't send him, op. A quick google search suggests that injuries are very common and can be very serious.

I personally think trampolining is too dangerous to do without proper trained supervision. I did a lot as a teenager, including competitions and it was scarily easy to have serious iniuries. Nets and lots of trampolines together give more of a sense of safety, they don't make it safe.

What you've both just said makes sense and gives info about what they do do to manage safely, but none of their documents about risk (t&cs, waiver) identify the safety video, staff ratios, behavioural standards or rights to claim if they were at fault.

That's what's wrong with the waiver; They are not communicating their responsibilities, standards or safety measures.

Whatever you sign, waivers to sue if it is their fault, are not legal. Companies do it to discourage people from suing.
I am in two minds about this. Part of me understands it as some parents are very very quick to try and sue when they have no case. Yes they don't win, but it still takes time to deal with it.

I took both my boys to one of these in Surrey when we were over there - there was a 15 minutes safety talk, which was very clear, and I was not allowed or prepared to leave DS2 unsupervised as he was only 4.
They have staff around at all times with loudhailers to prevent people from doing the wrong thing and if you do it again, you run the risk of being ejected from the place.
I didn't much like the waiver, but I do think they police the places pretty well to avoid injury. After all, they want people to come back!

Apologies though - the one we went to was called Gravity Force, not a Flip Out franchise (as far as I know)

Interestingly Gravity Force has a whole page on their safety standards on the top menu of their home page: www.gravityforce.co.uk/about/safety/

Similar waiver, but includes quite a bit about why it exists and what they do too.

It's much more responsible.

I think it's worth the risk and discomfort. Getting over the social ostracism would be a lot more painful.

I did trampolining at school. Fell funny after a bodged jump on to the pad covering the springs. Dislocated my elbow and cracked my wrist. This was back in the 90s. Just an accident.

Dont remember needing a waiver for PE lessons. But the world has gone mad!

Obviously we aren't talking about flipout now but my son kneed himself in the chin and bit his mouth when we went and tbf to flipout there was staff within seconds tending to him and the first aid box was fetched . They were very good but yeah threw a sheet at me for me to sign straight away during this time. It was obviously an accident but I can imagine there's so many accidents and serious ones like pp said.
They were very eager to stop horse play or anyone using the equipment for anything other than intended so I guess they are scared incase someone sues them.

If you or your child goes to this type of place I dont think you can hold anyone else accountable for injuries . They try their best to keep the kids as safe as they can .

Just because there's a clause in a contact doesn't make it lawful or enforceable.

Soft plays and activity centres can't waiver their way out of health and safety legislation.

From a legal standpoint they cannot exclude liability for personal injury or death caused by their negligence.

However I am guessing that many injuries are caused by kids being over exuberant etc and then parents threatening to sue. It is bringing it to people's attention that they will not liable for all types of injuries.

If they take pictures from time to time I suspect it is impossible to ascertain which don't want pictures taking so it is easier to say you either agree or don't participate.

So therefore the choice is entirely down to who chose whether or not to join in.

There is no way on earth I would allow my child to go to Flip Out. They appear to absolve themselves of any responsibility

My friend who is a nurse said that when our local branch opened the injuries that began almost immediately to pass through a & E were hotttifying.

My friends daughter's school ran a trip there. The teacher got injured. Said teacher was not being over exuberant.

ooo how did the teacher get injured?

or is that too outing?

I think it was a broken limb.

I imagine the waiver is not with the paper it's written on, it's just to make people think they are unsueable, which they are not.

A lot of those terms would fall under unfair terms and would fail to exclude liability.

DC have been to parties at gravity and flip out. Gravity seemed far more saftety conscious, much more controlled numbers on the trampolines and an area that was much easier for staff to supervise.

Flipout was dark, overcrowded, the safety video was clear, but the staff seemed less on hand to check and I heard no one reminding jumpers of the rues even though I saw many being broken.

My two much preferred flipout as it was more varied and exciting for them, but I will only be taking them back to gravity.

All these trampoline parks ask you to sign these forms, but the simple fact is ..you cannot contract out of statute law. If they are negligent in away way, you having signed a contract is irrelevant.

I went with my six year old to a Bristol place about a year ago. The staffing was awful. A couple of can't be arsed people standing doing nothing. Young children throwing themselves into and on top of each other in deep foam filled pits. My daughter tripped over a safety barrier and sprained her ankle badly.She ended up in a & e where I apologised profusely to the doctor for what I thought was a completely avoidable accident and stood by my promise never to go to the shit pit again. But these places should take responsibility for any accidents caused by their negligence.

Thanks all. Some shocking stories.

I don't mind risky activities, I just want to feel confident the people running them care about participants and their safety. Flip Out seems very much like it cares more about not being sued. As per PP, Gravity (though I've not been there either) has a lot more about joint responsibility and better examples.

The mandatory opt in for images bothers me thoug. Not necessarily because I don't want DS in photos, but because both companies make it mandatory and claim absolute rights over use. I have no interest in a casual snap of DS at a centre being used for their publicity or pasted on social media without my knowledge for time immemorial.

It is not possible under English law to exclude or limit liability for personal injury or negligence. Flip out have some very bad lawyers. Let's hope their safety advisers are more competent.