A trampoline park worker who was left housebound and in a ‘living hell’ after jumping into a foam pit has won a huge five-figure payout.
Natalee Smith, 34, suffered a serious back injury during her day of training at the Better Newquay Trampoline and Play Park in Cornwall.
The mother-of-three says she swelled to a size 20 after the accident, but has since lost the pounds and sued her former employer.
Mrs Smith took her bosses to court after seriously damaging her back when she jumped 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’.
Doctors later diagnosed a bulging disc in her spine and nerve damage.
Her injury left her housebound for months and the prescribed pills meant she could no longer stay fit and active, so she piled on weight from a slim size 12 to a 20.
Ms Smith sued her former bosses over her injury and, after a five-year legal battle, won her negligence claim at the Truro Combined Court in July.
Natalee Smith, 34, suffered a serious back injury during her day of training at the Better Newquay Trampoline and Play Park in Cornwall. Pictured: Natalee Smith in the hospital
Natalee Smith was diagnosed with a bulging disc in her spine and nerve damage. Here she is shown with her crutch
Mrs Smith said: “As a woman it was hard to accept. This injury has taken all the fun out of my life. My children even say I’m no longer fun.’ In the photo: 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 can now no longer walk long distances without sitting down, shouted: ‘This has been hell. My life has changed one hundred percent.
‘I piled on the weight because I couldn’t do the things I used to do anymore. It’s terrible.
‘As a woman it was difficult to accept. This injury has taken all the fun out of my life. My kids even say I’m no fun anymore.
‘I’ve pretty much gotten used to the pain, but living as an old person in a young body now, it’s just not fair.
‘I’m glad the judge found that well dangerous. If it can happen to one employee, it can happen to anyone.”
Mrs Smith was excited to return to work after taking an eight-year career break to raise her children, Adem, Arun and Evie, when the accident happened.
She joined the staff at the brand new Newquay Park for a training day in the summer of 2019 and after a few hours of induction they were told to try out the rides 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 from a platform into a foam pit. It was my worst decision.”
As soon as she jumped and followed the guidance provided, she felt her back hit the bottom.
The mother of three says she swelled to a size 20 after the accident, but has since lost the pounds and sued her former employer
‘I couldn’t do anything. My husband Jim had to do everything and take care of me as if I were a child. It was so humiliating.”
She said: ‘It felt very hard, like I had hit concrete. The pain was so intense.’
She later went to the hospital and was diagnosed with bulging discs, nerve root compression and soft tissue damage in her spine.
Mrs Smith added: ‘I didn’t realize how serious my injury was until a few weeks later when the pain did not improve and became much more severe.
‘I couldn’t do anything. My husband Jim had to do everything and take care of me as if I were a child. It was so humiliating.”
The following year she recovered at home with physio and walked with a crutch. Specialists delivered the devastating news that her persistent back pain and symptoms were likely to last a lifetime.
Mrs Smith, from St Austell, Cornwall, added: ‘I burst into tears because I had been very active.’
Now that she could no longer exercise, she ballooned her way up to a size 20.
She added, “Gaining weight made me very depressed because as a mother I was always busy and keeping myself in shape.
‘I enjoyed walking and going outside, but that all changed when I had my accident.
‘I suddenly couldn’t keep fit or exercise like I used to, and that in combination with the pills meant that the kilos really piled on.
“I’m plagued with mom guilt because I spent years making memories with my children.
‘I am unable to do normal parental things like hug my children, run on the beach or play in the park.’
But she was determined not to be wrong and launched legal action against her former company with trampoline injury specialist Express Solicitors.
The park denied liability, but during a four-day trial at Truro Combined Court the judge ruled they were liable for her devastating injuries.
She won an undisclosed five-figure settlement.
Appointed civil judge Paul Mitchell, who presided over Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, ruled that the equipment was defective, despite complying with construction guidelines for the trampoline park at the time.
He discovered that the foam used under the pit was too hard and there was not enough space between the trampoline bed and the floor to absorb the impact of jumping.
Ms Smith, who has since slimmed down to a size 16 with a dietitian, a change of pills and private medical treatment, added: ‘This wasn’t about money, it was about safety.
‘They said it was impossible for the accident to happen as I said.
‘I started to have doubts myself, but when we visited the location together with my lawyer and expert, we proved that it happened as I said it happened.
“I’m still in pain and can’t do a lot of things I used to do and I’m terrified of hurting my back, but I beat them in court after my years of hell.”
She used her compensation 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 have fought for years to win this case and hopefully trampoline park providers will now improve their standards to protect staff and customers.”
Greenwich Leisure Limited, which operates the trampoline park, said in a statement: ‘We can confirm that Natalee Smith suffered an injury while jumping into a foam pit at Newquay Trampoline Park and we continue to wish her well for the future.
‘Newquay Trampoline Park opened in 2019 in accordance with industry standards at the time.
‘Health and safety remains our number one priority and we continue to assess and develop our trampoline park product to ensure it meets current best practice.’