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May 02, 2023

'The staff didn't call for ambulance': Man breaks arm after jumping onto mat at indoor playground with son, Singapore News

A man suffered a broken arm after jumping onto an inflatable mat at indoor

A man suffered a broken arm after jumping onto an inflatable mat at indoor playground Bouncy Paradise.

Stomp contributor Stanley told Stomp that he visited the inflatable playground in Jurong East with his family on March 26.

"There was an obstacle where my son and I had to climb up a ladder and jump off onto an inflatable mat," he said.

"There was a staff sitting at the top playing with their handphone and not supervising.

"There was a little girl on my right jumping down the middle so I jumped off carrying my son, slightly to the left.

"When I landed the mat became very soft and I lost my balance and fell to the left."

Stanley said that he felt his left shoulder 'pop out' before sliding back into position after a minute or two.

"The staff didn't call for an ambulance until I told them to as I was in severe pain," he said.

He was then taken to Ng Teng Fong Hospital where he underwent an X-ray and was told he had a three-part fracture.

He had suffered a humeral neck fracture which is caused by a fall on an outstretched arm or elbow.

"No one from Bouncy Paradise called me to ask about my condition, they didn't even ask for my name or contact details," he said.

He finally was contacted by a manager after reaching out to them via Facebook Messenger.

"We have been exchanging WhatsApp messages to and fro and he always says his boss will call but he never did.

"All I want is for them to take some ownership as the conditions were unsafe and their staff were not alert in advising patrons.

"Till now, none of their management team has reached out."

Stanley added that his medical bills have reached about $15,000 and will probably amount to more after his follow-up appointments and physiotherapy sessions.

Bouncy Paradise did offer him $500 out of "goodwill" but Stanley rejected it.

"I told them I'd rather they keep the money and I educate the public on the dangers," he said.

In response to a Stomp query, Bouncy Paradise's management team issued the following statement:

"We are sorry for the unfortunate injury at Bouncy Paradise.

"An incident report was filed on the day itself documenting the accident and assistance rendered by our staff including supervision, icepacks and calling for an ambulance.

"Our manager had reached out to communicate with the customer on potential assistance for medical costs but did not receive relevant insurance details.

"Any injury at the playground is regretful and we are constantly trying to minimise the incident rates.

"We have also reviewed the play section where the accident occurred and our staff's operation guidelines.

"The section in question was investigated and found to have an incident rate of approximately 0.00001."

Stanley reiterated that the management did not reach out to him until five days after the incident following a prompt via Facebook Messenger on Mar 31.

In screenshots seen by Stomp, Stanley described the conversation between himself and the manager as 'lopsided'.

"I have provided all the medical invoices and they did not ask for my insurance details or I could easily link them up with my insurance broker," he said.

"Fact of the matter is, they have been evasive from the onset and sought to sweep things under the carpet, and hopefully it would blow over.

"This is the same modus operandi they deployed with the lady that got injured in December last year.

"So, given they are asking for my insurance details now, I can provide them tomorrow.

"But what is the next course of action? I have promised them that the public will know of their unethical business ways, and I’m keeping my end of the bargain."

Stomp earlier reported on a similar incident at Bouncy Paradise where a woman suffered a broken ankle after going down one of their slides.

She too expressed disappointment in how the playground's management handled her case.

Stanley said: "Go see the reviews and you will realise that they can't even get the statistics right.

"There were many past incidents and it's bold (and high-handed) to even say the incident rate stands at 0.0001."

ALSO READ: Woman suffers broken ankle after going down slide at indoor inflatable playground in Jurong East

This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.