What to do???

[MrsG31811]

Hi!
A few days ago I attended my nephews birthday party with my hubby and 3 kids.. included in my sister in law's hire fee was the use of a bouncy castle.. however, a serious incident really spoiled the day.. my 2yo son ended up getting stuck inside the bouncy castle.. I don't mean he got bundled by the other kids, i mean there was a tear in the seam inside the castle and he ended up stuck inside the fabric, with only part of his head and one arm in sight. (I would like to point out that my husband was supervising him from the outside at all times, and only lost sight of him when he came around from the back to help him at the bottom of the slide.. when he lost sight of him he assumed our son had gone to the food table or to the toilets and spent a few minutes looking for him in said places).
Anyway, the staff at the venue were awful. They clearly didn't check the bouncy castle before they allowed children to bounce.. and after the incident, when my SIO informed them what had happened and that the castle was faulty, they simply said we will get another one out. There was no apology to her, myself or My Husband, and they did not come to check and see if he was ok or if we needed anything. No incident report was filed and we spent the rest of the party with a distraught toddler.. (we were an hour and a half away from home so wanted to wait until he was completely settled before tackling the motorway on the way home).
Am I wrong to be seeking legal advice on this matter? And how do I go about this? I've sent them an email expressing my concerns but have so far had no reply.
My poor little man is thankfully not hurt but is absolutely traumatised and has become very clingy since.. it's devastating to see!!
Any advice would be great!
Sorry for the long post.. this is my first time posting on mumsnet.
Thanks!!!

There are strict health and a safety rules around bouncy castles, incl safety checks and risk assessments. Ask to see them.

Ok so maybe if they don't email me back by tomorrow I should email again asking to see these? I'm guessing they won't respond tonight as it's 8! It's just left me feeling very shaky and freaked out.

It's very frustrating as the venue itself uses these inflatables not only for private hire, but also in toddler, and stay and play groups that they run weekly. Surely they must have protocol for checking them every time? So why wasn't it? I'm guessing the staff working at the time have no idea about proper use of equipment and/or H&S regulations..

I’m sorry I have no legal advice at all but how scary!! Poor thing. They absolutely should be checking them before every use and surely a member of staff should be supervising them when in use?

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=6&ved=2ahUKEwifibns1IjbAhVhCMAKHbAHDaoQFjAFegQIAxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harrogate.gov.uk%2Fdownload%2Fdownloads%2Fid%2F3105%2Fguidanceonnuseoffinflatableplayy_equipment.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2rkoallOaZ694Sb7NbWWSG

I definitely would complain to the management and report them. As for pursuing a legal case, I believe you need to show financial loss as a result of negligence which will be difficult as they could easily argue that the split only appeared on that day.

You don't need to show financial loss for personal injury! If the child has suffered psychological trauma the op will need to show negligence on the part of the operators so that they had not adhered to h and s guidelines or regs by failing to make the appropriate checks both beforehand and during the use. The op will need to show that psychological injury occurred and that on the balance of probability it was caused by the incident on the bouncy castle. So op will need some sort of report from a counsellor dealing with child psych injury and the likely cause, then to assess the extent of the damages . . .. I think a strongly worded complaint to h and s would be more appropriate and less time consuming.

There has certainly been a H&S breach and therefore this incident needs to be raised officially.

There may not have been a h n s breach. If the bc had an annual inspection with correct documentation, and when it was erected it was checked before being used, and if they can show regular checks being made while in use that might be sufficient to fend off a pi claim. A bit like a pothole being in the road I suppose, if the l a can show the road was inspected in accordance with the guidelines at the appropriate times, you would not be successful in claiming for a damaged tyre.

Fortunately your child is ok, but he could easily not have been. There was a case in the news just a few weeks ago where a child was killed by a bouncy castle. Imo this could have had very serious consequences and needs to be pursued officially by a solicitor. I don't know if councils have anything to do with bouncy castles, I'd assume you could report it as a public safety issue?

Thanks for those guidelines notapizzaeater.. they were very informative. So far my sister in law has heard back from them, they claim to not have received my email so I have sent it again. They are withholding her deposit until the matter has been investigated.
With regards to your comment jonbb, they erected the bouncy castle while my sister in law was setting up for the party and no checks were done on it before the children were allowed to play, and none during or even after the incident when they took it down. I'm not looking for a pi claim/ compensation, but I am seeking an apology for their failings and to ensure that the matter is taken seriously to make sure that this does not happen again to another child :).
I would however be more than happy if they refunded my sister in law for the party..

If they didn't complete any paperwork to log the incident and didn't do the checks beforehand either their H&S processes are not fit for purpose, or more likely they weren't followed. There has been a breach.

@doyoumind we don't actually know that yet because nobody has asked for the documentation and nothing has yet been supplied voluntarily. But yes it is likely. I've learned over the years to not jump to conclusions and wait until all the evidence is in and assessed.

So I spoke to the venue today, and was informed that they were reviewing the incident report.. I'm a little confused as to how this is possible because, surely, to have filled in an accurate and factual report wouldn't they have had to speak to myself, my husband or My SIO, to actually find out what had happened? When my SIO spoke to them on the phone the first time, which was Monday, she mentioned that no accident report had been done and they said nothing about it then... am I right in feeling there's something a bit strange going on? I also have to make another 3 hour round trip to go and view the cctv myself.. I'm happy to do that, as I can point out there failings as as where they happened on the video x