A trampoline park worker who was left housebound and in a ‘living hell’ after she jumped into a foam pit has won a huge five-figure pay out.
Natalee Smith, 34, suffered a serious back injury while on her training day at the Better Newquay Trampoline and Play Park in Cornwall.
The mother-of-three says she swelled to size 20 after the accident but has since shed the pounds and sued her former employer.
Mrs Smith took her bosses to court after severely damaging her back whilst jumping into their foam pit.
After jumping into a foam filled pit she heard a ‘crack’ in her back which was so painful it took her ‘breath away.’
Medics later diagnosed a bulging back disc in her spine and nerve damage.
Her injury left her housebound for months and prescribed pills meant she could no longer keep fit and active so she piled on weight going from a slim size 12 to 20.
Mrs Smith sued her former bosses over her injury and after a five year legal battle won her claim for negligence in July at Truro Combined Court.
Natalee Smith, 34, suffered a serious back injury while on her training day at the Better Newquay Trampoline and Play Park in Cornwall. Pictured: Natalee Smith in hospital
Natalee Smith was diagnosed with a bulging back disc in her spine and nerve damage. Here she is pictured with her crutch
Mrs Smith said: ‘As a woman it has been hard to accept. This injury took all the enjoyment out of my life. My kids have even said I am not fun anymore’. Pictured: Natalee with children Adem, Arun and Evie
She has since banned her children from visiting trampoline parks and is urging other parents to do the same.
Mrs Smith, who is now unable to walk long distances without sitting down, blasted: ‘This has been a living hell. My life has changed one hundred per cent.
‘I piled weight on as I could no longer do any of the things I used to. It’s terrible.
‘As a woman it has been hard to accept. This injury took all the enjoyment out of my life. My kids have even said I am not fun anymore.
‘I have just about got used to the pain but I am now living life like an old person in a young body it’s just not fair.
‘I am glad the judge found that pit dangerous. If it can happen to a staff member then it can happen to anyone.’
Mrs Smith was excited about getting back to work after taking an eight-year career break to bring up her children, Adem, Arun and Evie when the accident happened.
She joined staff at the brand-new Newquay Park for a training day in the summer of 2019 and after a few hours induction they were told to try out the attractions before it opened to the public.
Mrs Smith said: ‘I didn’t want to go on a trampoline as I knew they could be dangerous, so I jumped into a foam pit instead from a platform. It was my worst decision.’
As soon as she jumped, following the guidance provided, she felt her back hit the bottom.
The mother-of-three says she swelled to size 20 after the accident but has since shed the pounds and sued her former employer
‘I couldn’t do anything. My husband Jim had to do everything and look after me like I was a child. It was so degrading’.
She said: ‘It felt really hard just like I had hit concrete. The pain was so intense.’
She later went to hospital and was diagnosed with disc bulging, nerve root entrapment and soft tissue damage in her spine.
Mrs Smith added: ‘I didn’t realise just how serious my injury was until a couple of weeks later when the pain didn’t improve and became much more severe.
‘I couldn’t do anything. My husband Jim had to do everything and look after me like I was a child. It was so degrading’.
She spent the next year recovering at home with physio and walking with a crutch and was told by specialists the devastating news that her ongoing back pain and symptoms would likely last for life.
Mrs Smith, from St Austell, Cornwall added: ‘I broke down crying as I had been very active.’
Now unable to exercise she piled on weight ballooning to a size 20.
She added: ‘Putting on the weight really depressed me as I was always busy as a mum and kept myself in shape.
‘I enjoyed going out walking and going outside but all that changed when I had my accident.
‘I was suddenly unable to keep fit or move like I used to and that combined with the pills meant the weight really piled on.
‘I have been ridden with mum guilt as I have missed out on years of making memories with my children.
‘I have been unable to do normal parent things like cuddle my children or run down the beach or play in the park.’
But she was determined not to take things lying down and started legal action against her former company with trampoline injury specialists Express Solicitors.
The park denied liability but at a four-day trial at Truro Combined Court the Judge found they were liable for her devastating injuries.
She won an undisclosed five-figure settlement.
Designated Civil Judge Paul Mitchell presiding over Cornwall, Devon and Dorset ruled that the equipment was defective – despite adhering to trampoline park construction guidelines at the time.
He found that foam used under the pit was too hard and there was insufficient gap between the trampoline bed and the floor to absorb the impact of jumping.
Mrs Smith, who has since slimmed down to a size 16 with a dietician, change of pills and private medical treatment, added: ‘This wasn’t about money it was safety.
‘They were saying that it was impossible for the accident to happen as I said it had.
‘I started second guessing myself but when we visited the site with my solicitor and expert, we proved that it happened the way I said it did.
‘I am still in pain and can’t do many things I used to and I am terrified of hurting my back, but I beat them in court after my years of hell.’
She is using her compensation award to fund further private medical treatment for her ongoing injuries.
Her lawyer Adam Farrell of Express Solicitors said: ‘This case highlights the inherent dangers of trampoline parks.
‘We fought for years to win this case and hopefully now trampoline park providers will improve their standards to protect staff and customers’.
Greenwich Leisure Limited who operate the trampoline park, said in a statement: ‘We can confirm that Natalee Smith sustained an injury when jumping into a foam pit at Newquay Trampoline Park and we continue to wish her well for the future.
‘Newquay Trampoline Park was opened in 2019 in accordance with industry standards at the time.
‘Health and safety remains our number one priority and we continue to review and develop our trampoline park product to ensure compliance with current best practice.’