The main purpose of a bouncehouse is, of course, for children to have a huge amount of fun. This is the goal, but unfortunately it doesn’t always happen this way. Anyone who has young children knows that accidents happen, and when it comes to young children they tend to happen on a fairly regular basis. That’s why it’s important to realize that sooner or later, someone is likely going to be injured when jumping a bouncehouse they have rented from you. The question then becomes: how do you handle the situation?
Assessment
Before any action is taken, you must take time to see how badly the child is injured. If you are there when the accident occurs, remain calm and clear out the jump house as quickly, and orderly, as you can so that you can get to the injured child. Once you have the child out, make sure the parents are notified that their child is injured and try to keep the child calm. It is a good idea to not perform any type of medical treatment on the child unless it is a definite necessity. Allow the parents to care for the child instead.
Once the emergent situation has been dealt with, you should assess how badly the child is injured. If it is just a few bumps and bruises, the parents will likely take no action and an apology from you, something like, “I’m very sorry that your child was injured on the play apparatus” is definitely appropriate. If the child was seriously injured, however, you will want to handle the situation a bit differently.
Injury
If a child is seriously injured when jumping in your bouncehouse, first you should make sure that there was nothing in the house that caused the injury. Re-inflate the house and look it all over to make sure that you truly were not at fault for the injury. Chances are good it was likely children bumping into one another that caused the injury, but checking the apparatus is definitely a good idea. Apologize to the parents for the injury occurring, but remember: this is what insurance is for. Between the insurance you have purchased and the contract the parents signed, you should be clear when it comes to legal ramifications. An apology, however, and possibly a suggestion of a free rental is definitely something that would be considered good customer service in this situation.