Sky Zone staff to blame for 8-year-old’s injuries at trampoline park, Wisconsin mom says

An 8-year-old boy suffered serious bruising at a Sky Zone trampoline park and the child’s mom says staff members could have prevented his injuries.

The boy had bruising to his neck following the incident on Saturday, Feb. 11, at a Sky Zone in Waukesha, Wisconsin, his mom said in a Facebook post.

Ashley Calvert shared video on Facebook of her son on a swing tied to a blue rope above a foam pit. The rope is not typically tied to the swing, and Calvert said it was “rigged” so children could get the swing back themselves without relying on staff members.

As 8-year-old Caden was swinging, he got caught in the rope, which then yanked him backward as he jumped into the pit, the video shows.

“He couldn’t breathe and was in shock. I had to jump in and grab him,” Calvert said on Facebook. “Not one employee asked if he was OK.”

McClatchy News has reached out to Sky Zone for a comment. A Sky Zone representative told WISN it was “currently looking into the incident to determine exactly what occurred.”

Calvert said she tried talking to Sky Zone staff members about her son’s injuries, but they said the park was not at fault because she signed a waiver.

People are required to sign waivers at Sky Zone. Anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign their form.

By signing the waiver, the parent acknowledges they are aware of the “dangerous” risks of the park, “including the risk of injury, permanent disability, or even death, deriving from, but not limited to, equipment malfunctions; building malfunctions; lack of supervision and/or trained trampoline monitors; lack of proper equipment or padding, netting, or other safety measures; slipping; falling; landing; or colliding with fixed objects or other people, as well as the negligence.”

But Calvert said a worker is usually holding the blue rope in the swing area, which would have prevented an injury.

“A staff member should be standing at the top monitoring all kids and pulling the swing back in with a hooked stick. I am in RAGE!!!” she said in a follow-up post showing how the rope was tied.

Caden went to the hospital for his injuries, and the bruising remained present days later, according to WISN. Calvert told the station that “nobody cared” when her son was hurt.

Calvert said she requested to speak with a manager, but when that could not happen right away, she left with her son, whowas “upset and scared.”

“This could have been very, very bad. My child could have died. His neck could have been snapped. He could have been paralyzed,” Calvert told WISN. “Sky Zone knows that rope’s not supposed to be there, just like I do.”