Georgia Legal Guide: What If Your Child Is Seriously Hurt on Someone Else’s Trampoline?
Key Points:
- A homeowner’s insurance policy may cover a child’s trampoline injury claim.
- Health insurance companies and Medicaid may seek reimbursement from a settlement for medical costs they paid.
- A homeowner may be held liable when active negligence, hidden hazards, or failure to fulfill an assumed duty to supervise causes a child’s injury.
- Georgia law distinguishes parents’ claims for medical expenses before age 18 from children’s claims for pain, suffering, and damages after age 18. A minor’s settlement may require court approval under O.C.G.A. § 29-3-3.
If your child suffered a severe injury on a neighbor’s, friend’s, or relative’s trampoline, you are likely receiving medical bills and are dealing with a child who is experiencing a lengthy recovery. You might also be hesitating to pursue compensation because you worry about damaging the relationship or causing another family financial hardship.
The homeowner’s insurance policy may cover your child’s injuries, helping pay medical expenses without requiring the homeowner to pay those costs personally. This guide explains how Georgia law applies to trampoline injury claims, when a homeowner may be liable, and how insurance coverage and settlements work.
What Is the Difference Between a Homeowners Insurance Claim and a Lawsuit?
A homeowners insurance claim begins outside of court. Your attorney notifies the homeowner’s insurance company, reviews available coverage, gathers medical records, and submits a settlement demand to the claims adjuster. This process doesn’t require the homeowner to appear before a judge.
A claim may be resolved through settlement negotiations without a lawsuit. If a lawsuit becomes necessary because the insurer disputes fault or refuses to pay fairly, the homeowner’s insurer is usually required to provide a defense attorney and pay covered settlements or judgments up to the policy limits, unless there is a specific exclusion covering trampolines.
Why Is My Health Insurance Company Refusing to Pay or Asking Who Owns the Trampoline?
After your child receives emergency care or surgery for a trampoline injury, your health insurance company may send an accident questionnaire or subrogation inquiry. Billing codes associated with falls or impacts can prompt the insurer to investigate whether another party may be responsible.
These forms help the insurer determine where the injury occurred and whether liability coverage, such as the homeowner’s insurance policy, may apply. Your health plan may delay processing medical claims while investigating whether another insurer should pay.
How Does Health Insurance Subrogation Work in a Trampoline Injury Case?
If your health insurer, PeachCare, or Medicaid pays your child’s injury-related medical bills, it may seek repayment from a third-party liability settlement you receive.
For children covered by Medicaid, the Georgia Department of Community Health has a statutory lien on third-party settlements under O.C.G.A. §§ 49-4-148 and 49-4-149. Hospitals may also file liens for unpaid medical bills under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-470.
Georgia’s “made whole” doctrine provides protections for families with state-regulated health plans under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-56.1 and the Georgia Supreme Court’s ruling in Davis v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., 271 Ga. 508 (1999). Under O.C.G.A. § 33-24-56.1(b), these plans cannot require reimbursement unless the total recovery exceeds all economic and non-economic losses. Any reimbursement must also account for the insurer’s fair share of attorney’s fees and expenses.
Different rules apply to self-funded employer health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Self-funded ERISA plans are exempt from Georgia’s made whole statute and can enforce clear plan terms requiring reimbursement from a settlement (FMC Corp. v. Holliday, 498 U.S. 52 (1990); Sereboff v. Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc., 547 U.S. 356 (2006)).
Why Might Parents Need to File a Homeowners Insurance Claim?
You may prefer to use your child’s health insurance, pay the deductible, and avoid involving the homeowner’s insurer. However, health insurance contracts require cooperation with subrogation investigations, including disclosing whether the injury occurred on someone else’s property.
Health coverage may also leave your family responsible for substantial deductibles, copays, and future care costs. Hospitals may file liens for unpaid bills under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-470. Pursuing a homeowners insurance claim with legal counsel may help recover these expenses and allow an attorney to use Georgia law to eliminate or negotiate down health insurance subrogation liens.
When Is a Georgia Homeowner Liable for a Trampoline Injury?
A homeowner’s legal duty depends on the visitor’s status and whether the injury resulted from a property condition or the homeowner’s negligence. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, homeowners owe invitees, such as visitors present for mutual business benefit, a duty of ordinary care to keep the premises safe. A child visiting for a playdate or party is a social guest or “licensee” under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-2.
For fixed conditions on the property, homeowners must not willfully or wantonly injure a licensee or knowingly expose the child to a hidden peril, sometimes called a “mantrap” or pitfall. A duty of ordinary care applies when the claim involves active negligence or the homeowner knows the child is within range of a dangerous activity.
Common examples of homeowner negligence include failing to provide promised adult supervision, allowing multiple children of different sizes to jump together, creating a risk of “double-bouncing,” ignoring damaged safety nets, missing frame pads or broken springs, or placing the trampoline close to concrete patios, decks, or fences.
What If My Child Used the Neighbor’s Trampoline Without Permission?
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-3(b), property owners owe trespassers no duty except to refrain from willful or wanton injury. However, O.C.G.A. § 51-3-3(c) preserves Georgia’s attractive nuisance doctrine, which may protect children injured while trespassing.
The Georgia Supreme Court adopted this doctrine in Gregory v. Johnson, 249 Ga. 151 (1982) (applying Restatement (Second) of Torts § 339). It allows a landowner to be held liable for injuries to trespassing children caused by an artificial condition when all five conditions are met:
- The owner knows children are likely to trespass.
- The condition poses an unreasonable risk of serious harm.
- Because of their youth, the children do not realize the risk.
- The burden of eliminating the danger is slight compared to the risk.
- The owner fails to use reasonable care to secure the hazard or protect the children.
If a homeowner leaves a hazardous trampoline accessible in an unfenced yard where young children play, under some circumstances they can be held liable even if the child entered without permission.
How Does Homeowners Insurance Cover a Serious Trampoline Accident?
A homeowner’s insurance policy may provide two types of coverage for injuries to guests:
- Medical payments coverage (“MedPay”): Typically limited to $1,000 to $5,000, this coverage pays reasonable medical expenses for a guest injured on the property regardless of who was at fault. It may help cover emergency room copays, ambulance bills, or health insurance deductibles.
- Personal liability coverage: Often carrying limits of $100,000 to $500,000 or more, this coverage may compensate your child when the homeowner’s negligence caused the injury. Covered damages may include hospital and surgical bills, future orthopedic care, physical therapy, permanent scarring, and pain and suffering, up to the policy limit.
What If the Homeowner’s Insurance Policy Excludes Trampoline Injuries?
Some homeowners insurance policies exclude trampoline injuries or require a special endorsement for coverage. If an adjuster cites a trampoline exclusion, carefully review the policy to determine whether it applies. Under Georgia law, exclusions are strictly construed against the insurer and ambiguous language is interpreted in favor of coverage.
An attorney can request a complete, certified copy of the policy, including all declarations, endorsements, and riders, to examine the exact wording. The homeowner may also have a personal umbrella liability policy providing $1 million or more in additional coverage.
Can Someone Other Than the Homeowner Be Liable for a Trampoline Injury?
Yes. Depending on what caused the injury, multiple parties may be liable. Equipment failure, such as a safety net or zipper that fails on impact, a broken frame weld, torn mat, or defective springs, may support a product liability claim against the manufacturer or retailer, or a negligence claim against the installer. Preserve the trampoline and broken parts so they can be examined for evidence of a defect.
If the accident happened at a rental property, liability may rest with the tenant, landlord, or both. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14 (Colquitt v. Rowland, 265 Ga. 905 (1995)), an out-of-possession landlord is not liable for a tenant’s day-to-day negligence, such as failing to supervise children on the tenant’s own trampoline. The tenant’s renters insurance may provide coverage. A landlord may remain liable for failing to repair known property defects or for hazards the landlord supplied or controlled.
Finally, if the trampoline was on common property controlled by a homeowners association (HOA) or property management company, the HOA owes a duty of ordinary care under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1. Commercial liability insurance may cover the claim.
Can the Insurance Company Blame My Child for the Trampoline Accident?
An insurer may argue that your child acted carelessly or assumed the risk of jumping. Georgia’s comparative fault statute (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) reduces an adult’s compensation by their percentage of fault and bars recovery at 50%. However, Georgia law does not judge children by adult standards.
Under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-5, the care expected of a child of tender years depends on that child’s own mental and physical capacities.
Very young children are legally incapable of contributory negligence (Carter v. Brannon, 122 Ga. App. 812 (1970)), children under age 13 cannot be held liable as tortfeasors (O.C.G.A. § 51-11-6), and a parent’s alleged negligence cannot be imputed to the child to reduce the child’s claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-2-1(b).
An insurer asserting assumption of the risk must show that the child had actual, subjective knowledge of the specific danger, understood and appreciated that exact risk, and voluntarily exposed themselves to it. Assuming the ordinary risk of jumping does not mean a child assumed the risk of another person’s negligence or understood the biomechanical danger of a double-bounce catapult or a failing safety net (Little Rapids Corp. v. McCamy, 218 Ga. App. 111 (1995)).
What If the Neighbor Posted a “Jump at Your Own Risk” Sign or Asked Me to Sign a Waiver?
A “Jump at your own risk” sign or informal parental waiver does not prevent a valid Georgia trampoline claim. A general warning sign does not excuse active negligence, hidden equipment hazards, or failure to fulfill an assumed duty to supervise visiting children.
A child lacks the legal capacity to waive their own personal injury rights. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-11-2, the consent of a child incapable of consenting cannot impair the rights of others who have a right of action.
A parent cannot waive a child’s independent personal injury claim through an informal pre-injury waiver without statutory authority, and no release can excuse willful or wanton misconduct.
What Compensation Can Be Recovered for a Child’s Serious Injury?
A serious fracture, growth-plate injury, spinal trauma, brain injury, or organ damage can affect your child’s health and daily life for years. Under Georgia tort law (O.C.G.A. §§ 51-12-1, 51-12-2, and 51-12-7), recoverable damages may include financial losses and the injury’s physical and emotional effects.
Economic (special) damages cover all reasonable and necessary past and future medical bills, including emergency care, orthopedic surgeries, hardware removal, growth-plate monitoring, and physical therapy. A parent’s time or lost wages spent caring for the injured child may also be recoverable.
Non-economic (general) damages compensate your child for past and future pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of childhood activities, and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
How Does a Minor’s Injury Settlement Work in Georgia?
Under Georgia law, a minor’s injury claim is split into two separate claims:
- The parents’ claim: Because parents are legally responsible for their child’s medical expenses under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-2, the claim for medical bills incurred before age 18 and loss of services belongs to the parents (Mujkic v. Lam, 342 Ga. App. 693 (2017); Epps v. Hin, 255 Ga. App. 370 (2002)).
- The child’s claim: The minor’s claim covers pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent scarring or impairment, and medical expenses or lost earnings after age 18. A parent may bring this claim on the child’s behalf as a “next friend” under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-17(c).
O.C.G.A. § 29-3-3 governs court approval and other requirements for a minor’s settlement. If the gross settlement is $25,000 or less, a parent acting as the natural guardian can settle the claim without court approval or becoming conservator.
If the gross settlement exceeds $25,000, court approval is required. The probate court must approve the settlement if no lawsuit is pending and the minor’s net settlement is $25,000 or less after attorney’s fees, expenses, medical/insurer reimbursements, and immediate parental payouts. If a lawsuit is pending, the trial court handling the case must approve the settlement.
If the net settlement exceeds $25,000, a formal conservatorship through the probate court is generally required unless the court approves a qualifying arrangement such as a protected structured settlement annuity or trust until the child turns 18.
A claim seeks compensation through your neighbor’s homeowners insurance and any applicable umbrella coverage. Your neighbor’s personal assets are only at risk if they have no valid insurance coverage or if a court judgment exceeds their policy limits.
Parents have two years from the injury date to file a claim for medical expenses incurred before the child turns 18 under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 (Mujkic v. Lam, 342 Ga. App. 693 (2017)).
The deadline for the child’s own pain and suffering claim is paused until age 18 under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-90(b), giving the child until their 20th birthday to file. The extension does not preserve the parents’ medical expense claim, so the parents must act within the two-year deadline.
Generally, no. For state-regulated health plans, Georgia’s made whole doctrine (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-56.1) bars reimbursement unless your family is first fully compensated for all losses (Davis v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., 271 Ga. 508 (1999)).
Even for self-funded ERISA plans or Medicaid, an attorney can challenge plan rules, enforce Medicaid allocation caps and negotiate reductions (Arkansas Dept. of Health & Human Services v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006)).
You can still pursue a claim against the homeowner if they agreed to supervise the children and failed to use reasonable care to stop dangerous jumping. Under Georgia law (Nunn v. Page, 265 Ga. App. 484 (2004)), a homeowner’s assumed duty to supervise may provide a basis for liability.
We generally recommend that you do not give a recorded statement to the homeowner’s insurance adjuster without first speaking to a Georgia personal injury attorney. Adjusters may ask questions designed to support arguments that the danger was “open and obvious,” that your child assumed the risk, or that the homeowner was not at fault in order to deny the claim under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-2.
The tenant who owns the trampoline and supervises its use may be liable. An out-of-possession landlord is usually not responsible for a tenant’s operational negligence under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14 (Colquitt v. Rowland, 265 Ga. 905 (1995)).
However, a landlord may be liable under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-14 or § 51-3-1 if the injury resulted from the landlord’s failure to repair a known property defect or occurred in a common area under the landlord’s control.
Myths and Facts About Trampoline Injury Claims
Myth: “Health insurance will pay for all of my child’s medical bills without expecting repayment.”
Fact: Health insurers and Medicaid may investigate whether another party is responsible for the injury and seek repayment from a settlement. Reimbursement rights depend on the applicable rules, including Georgia’s made whole law (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-56.1) or federal ERISA/Medicaid rules.
Myth: “The homeowner can’t be held responsible if they were not near the trampoline when the injury occurred.”
Fact: A homeowner who agreed to supervise visiting children may be liable for failing to exercise reasonable care, even if absent when the injury occurred (Nunn v. Page, 265 Ga. App. 484 (2004)). Liability may also arise from leaving an unenclosed, hazardous trampoline accessible to young trespassing children under the attractive nuisance doctrine or failing to warn of hidden defects.
