- Trampoline park operators fined
- 270 injured, 11 spinal
- Community service ordered
The operators of a trampoline park responsible for injuring 270 individuals, eleven of whom sustained spinal injuries, have been fined and given community service.
After clinicians at the local A&E expressed concerns over the number of individuals requiring treatment after visiting Flip Out in Chester, an investigation was initiated.
David Shuttleworth, from Stoke, and Matthew Melling, from Manchester, were directors of the Chester franchise.
Both men, aged 34, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety Act.
Injuries were reported on December 10, 2016, the day after the park opened, but there was no evidence that the company took precautions to reduce the risk of injury, according to the case presented before Chester Crown Court.
One hundred twenty of the injured sustained facial injuries, including a woman who sustained a severe tear that might necessitate future cosmetic surgery.
Between December 2016 and February 2017, Melling and Shuttleworth were present during several incidents involving the tower leap, which was 17 feet 3 inches (5.3 metres) high.
Jumping from three stories into a foam pool below injured tourists, primarily youngsters, the court heard.
As business consultants earning approximately £80,000 each, the directors had assumed the structure of a Flip Out centre in Stoke could be replicated at the Chester location.
The court was told that health and safety tests, such as risk assessments and foam landing safety assurances, were inadequate.
Around two hundred thousand individuals visited the attraction at Chester Gates Business Park during its two-month run.
When sentencing, Justice Leeming said, “What transpired at Flip Out had irreparably damaged lives.”
He stated that the men’s “lax approach to health and safety” had left some injured individuals “with genuine concerns for their futures and years of pain and suffering.
He told the court that Melling and Shuttleworth had “both expressed regret and remorse.” They were not present daily, which prevented them from being aware of the constant flow of injuries.
However, he also said that individuals of business-running age were also mature enough to take on health and safety responsibilities.
Shuttleworth paid £6,500 in fines and £50,000 in court costs, while Melling paid £6,300 in fees and £6,500 in fines. Both Shuttleworth and Melling admitted to being employers or self-employed individuals. They failed to discharge a general health and safety duty towards a person other than an employee.
Additionally, a 12-month community order requiring 250 hours of unpaid community service was imposed on both individuals.
Justice Leeming stated he was imposing the sentence due to the negligent conduct of the two defendants. This was rather than their intentionality or the pursuit of cost savings at the expense of safety.
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Twenty-one percent of the defendants’ business, Shuttleworth and Melling Ltd., ceased operations in 2021. Numerous claims for personal injury compensation are pending or have been resolved.
