Soft play area accident: any advice please?

[LadyJH]

Hi, this is my first time/posting on Mumsnet and I need some advice, please. I took my two kids, aged two and seven, to a 'playzone' sort of place this morning. My son (7) hobbled to where I was sitting, after about 45 minutes of hurling himself around, with a big toe broken in two places (as A&E later confirmed). The playzone place was sympathetic, but should it be reported officially, like an accident book, or something? He can't actually remember at what point he smashed his toe (doh) and I feel so terrible for him, with it being the first day of Spring break here. Can I do anything to salve my conscience?! He's all bound up and on crutches.

I imagine for the purposes of insurance it would have to be entered into their accident book.

Other than that just wanted to say I hope DS feels better very soon, and accidents do happen, you have nothing to feel guilty about!

I would get back to them and tell them what's happened - try to establish what happened with ds - where he did it etc. They should know this stuff. Others will probably suggest litigation but I'm a sap and would settle for registering the incident with them. Poor ds - hope he's not in too much pain.

yes it should be recorded in an accident book.

poor love, hope his toe recovers quickly. dh browk him toes when he was a kid, said it was v v v painful.

These facilities are not regulated by anyone, so expect it would fall under Health & Safety at Work act - thus should be recorded somewhere. Perhaps write them a brief note to say what the outcome of the A&E visit was, along with any details your DS (that's mumsnet shorthand for 'darling son') can remember. Then in the future if a similar incident occurs, the owners can compare the incidents and see if any design change could help avoid such incidents in the future.
You never know, they may even send you a note back with a free visit voucher for when your DS has recovered.

Thanks for the advice; I will ring them in the morning and ask about the accident book. I know someone must inspect these places so it should be recorded somewhere. I wouldn't consider litigation - the little monkey was probably up to mischief anyway (although he's yet to 'fess up)!