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3-year-old boy loses finger playing on shopping center trampoline

52 Comments

A 3-year-old boy lost a finger in a shopping mall play center accident in Chiba, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon at around 1:30 p.m. in a shopping center at Naganumaharacho in Inage Ward, TBS reported. The boy was playing on a trampoline in a children's play area.

Witnesses say the boy was trying to get off the trampoline when he lost his balance. The middle finger of his left hand became caught in a hole in the trampoline and was torn off, TBS reported.

A spokesperson for the shopping center said the play area in which the accident took place has been temporarily closed and other children's amusement facilities are currently being checked for signs of damage.

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I suppose the shopping mall has a responsible with the safety of playing areas, not doing the job properly. off with his head...(in Japanese: kubi).

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Witnesses say the boy was trying to get off the trampoline when he lost his balance. The middle finger of his left hand became caught in a tear in the the trampoline and was torn off, TBS reported.

Not one adult would help him get down? He's 3 years old.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

If you had helped him, you might wind up in court yourself. A smart lawyer could pin the blame on you.

-5 ( +5 / -10 )

One would have hoped that, with all of the medical advances worldwide over the past two decades that have been made in reattaching severed digits, limbs, and other body parts, there was a happy ending to this story with the reattachment of the boy's finger. So far, though, there is none. Was it even possible to do so, or were there complicating factors? Did anyone have the presence of mind to pack the finger in ice, stanch the boy's bleeding, and get him to a hospital capable of such demanding surgery? One is left with the feeling that, if this is the end of the story, it didn't have to end this way.

Very sad.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Poor little boy! I hope they are able to connect the rest of his finger back! and stupid, stupid shopping center! where the heck were the adult workers??????? i smell a law suit! i hope this little boy and his family can get good lawyers ASAP!!

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

3 year olds and trampolines do not mix. This little baby should have been monitored or supervised.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

i smell a law suit! i hope this little boy and his family can get good lawyers ASAP!!

While there will more than likely be some type of compensation paid to the family of the child it isn't going to be millions of dollars either. Probably medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and maybe $10 to $20,000 in "apology" money.

Stupid shopping center? I don't think the stupidity starts there, it starts closer to home as in with the parents or person(s) who were supposed to be looking after the child. Trampolines are not the safest toy around and any parent or guardian that lets a 3rd yr old child play on one needs to have their heads examined.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Trampolines are death traps. Everyone I know who had one had some kind of accident on it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This is not an ordinary trampoline. You could never anticipate an accident from this air inflated enclosed type trampoline. Looks like a bus when inflated. ( Height 2.5m, Width 6m Depth 4m.)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's just an accident..can't even see why this has made the news. JT trying to get people outraged over nothing as usual I see. I'm sorry for the little boy. Perhaps his parents shouldn't have let him on the trampoline but we can't wrap our kids in cotton wool forever.

15 ( +17 / -2 )

I agree sau133 - everyone screaming for answers - sometimes an accident is just an accident!

Why there were no adults there? (Of course there were! someone running the play area, parents, bystanders.) Why he wasnt helped down (why would he be? Hes 3 years old and it was a childs play toy, not an adult one) Stupid shopping centre (for allowing a childs play item to be used by a child??!) Stupid parents (for allowing their child to play on a childs toy?!)

If there are any questions to be asked they should be directed at the manufacturer (if the hole was meant to be there and was a design flaw) or the owners (if the hole was wear and tear and they hadnt maintained it properly).

But blaming the shopping centre/parents is just stupid.

I hope the little boy makes a full recovery, although I doubt the finger will have been correctly treated and reattached. They still make kids lie down and tip their heads back for nosebleeds here.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

If the little boy were 9 or 10 years old I might agree to it being an accident, but at 3 years old he probably had to be put on the trampoline by someone in the first place and that someone should have been there watching to help him off of it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

As one person said, reattachment by a good surgeon after bringing the part in a vinyl bag which was put into ice water to keep it from deterioration is possible. However few Japanese know many emergency procedures when I ask them. I wonder why?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

If there are any questions to be asked they should be directed at the manufacturer (if the hole was meant to be there and was a design flaw) or the owners (if the hole was wear and tear and they hadnt maintained it properly).

Well the article mentions that they're checking the other children's amusement facilities for signs of damage, which would seem to suggest that the hole was wear and tear.

Poor kid. What a horrible experience.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Freak accident. Hope the boy gets his finger reattached.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

When I was the same age had the top of the same finger lopped off by a door slamming on it in the wind. Mother took me to the local clinic and he stuck it back on-crookedly...that was 40 years ago in Australia..shouldnt be a problem...freak accident ,stop the blame game.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is the picture of the "rainbow bus " trampoline. Does not look dangerous at all.

http://www.fantasyresort.jp/blog/archives/1549

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I can't recall ever reading about a reattached digit in Japan, but I hear about them in other countries, even so called third world countries. Why are they not reported on, or done, here?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thanks for the info crazyjoe. How the heck does anyone manage to tear off a finger with that inflated thing? Terrible news though and it reminds me again that I've got to constantly keep an eye on my kid.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Poor kid.

I guess we can now look forward to a country ban on trampolines - much like the ban on revolving doors from a few years ago, swings in the Kansai area....

Well said saru311. I actually saw a TV program here a few years ago where they were PADDING stairwells and wall corners because... too many kids were getting hurt. Program also said said kids don't know how to "fall" properly because they are never allowed to fall due to helicopter parents.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Every one of these I saw were called a bouncey house.

Not the trampoline you can do a 10 foot high backflip on. Still kids can jump and bounce around and end up with a smack to the head or worse, hurt to this degree.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@ CrazyJoe

I looked at the pictures on the link you posted and that is not a trampoline.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yeah, that's a bouncy castle, house, whatever in the link & if there was a hole large enough to catch a kid's finger, it would deflate. And as has been pointed out, how could something to soft & squishy rip a finger off? Trampoline yes, bouncy castle no.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Ultrack

It doesn't look like a trampolin to me either, but it is. Here's the video, if you understand some Japanese.

Also in the article it says トランポリン (trampolin).

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/videonews/jnn?a=20111105-00000005-jnn-soci

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I can't really blame someone in this case because after looking at CrazyJoe's picture of the bouncy bus, it wasn't a real trampoline after all. How can anyone possibly know something like this would happen? Call it FREAK accident. I know that I more alert and careful with my children than your typical head-in-the-ass keitai/gossip parents around, but this is way too "unpredictable" even for the best of us. Have to admit it. Makes you wonder...

Poor baby, I wonder know...will his finger get re-attached like some fellow posters mentioned? Born and raised here, I've never heard of such thing either. If wrong, please feel free to educate me. (^_^)

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Thanks CrazyJoe, but I don't understand the language to well. I would like to see what the little boy was playing on though. Because from the pictures of your first link the second photo where you see inside the funhouse is the colored balls. The kids can dive on and burrow through but Those things would never be on a trampoline.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

About 20 seconds into the video, you can see the part where the boy stuck the finger and severed it. I think the kids just jump up and down on those colored balls, but I'm not sure.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

okay, thanks CrazyJoe

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

If the little boy were 9 or 10 years old I might agree to it being an accident, but at 3 years old he probably had to be put on the trampoline by someone in the first place and that someone should have been there watching to help him off of it.

Not if it was age-appropriate and if you look at the picture crazyjoe posted it seems to be. Most of these kinds of apparatus have an age/height limit so if a 3 year old (under sho-gakko) age was on there then over sho-gakko age children probably wont have been allowed on. Therefore, as a mother of a 3 year old I would expect him to be able to get on and off by himself. Again, going on crazyjoes picture I would have thought that was perfectly acceptable for a 3 year old and would not have felt the need to help him on and off unless he was obviously struggling. Im sorry but I really dont think you can blame the parents in this case.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

What some people would call a bouncy castle. The kid was trying to get out of it when he caught his finger in a torn section. Horrific and sad, but accidents do happen.

The department store have closed the thing and forbidden use of it, even though this is extemely unlikely to ever happen again.

Friend of mine was in stage lighting and slipped down a ladder, tearing off his little finger.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Ultrack

No problem.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thanks for the info CrazyJoe because that is certainly not a trampoline. I hope everyone see your post before they start making rash statements. This looks like one of those freak accidents that couldn't be prevented, and who knows when the tear had developed. The only way an adult can supervise this is unless they go inside that contraption with their kids. I doubt that would happen with all the screaming kids playing in there.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It is tempting to find a culprit, but this might be just one of these freak cases where really nobody is to blame. Some bad things will always happen, and 3 year-old bodys are easy to damage. I only hope they can re-attach the digit at the hospital.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A freak accident is being struck by lightning. THIS accident could have been prevented with the PROPER inspection of the rainbow bus. So yes someone is to blame.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The plastic material is pretty strong stuff, so a small hole and enough torque will sever a little kids finger if he was moving forward and was unfortunate enough to put his finger in the hole. That said, every pending tear in an attraction like this needs to be checked every morning and systematically repaired.

You'll never going to stop all accidents especially once where to kids smash into each other, but the bare minimum on checking for wear and tear is needed. Problem is the hole might have been made that afternoon and because of something a kid was carrying in his pocket or something. I'm bicycle parks have more inherent dangers for all those involved.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Kids accident: who's to be blame? I would say only parents should be blamed! Mummy was supposed to watch him...he's only 3!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

And those plastic balls have to be sanitized at least daily I would think because lil kids have accidents meaning they might pee their pants. So an inspection of that rainbow bus should take place at least once a day. That tear should have been seen and taken care of, it's the Only responsible thing to do.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This thread is a perfect example of how so many posters on this site jump to conclusions about how parents and staff are irresponsible, when they really have no clue. I would have let my kid play on that unattended, and in fact, I let my boy play on something very similar when he was 2 years old. I wouldn't call ANY parent negligent for letting their kid play on that - it looks pretty darn safe.

Yet, there were at least a few posters, as on every thread like this, who condemn the parents as being horrible and sometimes deserving of jail, when they really have no clue of the actual details of a situation.

You people should learn a lesson from this.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Most "play areas" don't allow adults to get in there - for obvious reasons. It's a freak accident and I'm sure the trampoline manufacturer will be looking at what happened closely and rectify the issue. They'll probably be paying out for this accident and I'm sure they don't want to be paying out for any more.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The Adults who maintain the play area are to blame, they clean the toys there I assume and if there is ware and tear it should be reported and or repaired. Depending on how old that rainbow bus is the manufacturer may not be at fault.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

THIS accident could have been prevented with the PROPER inspection of the rainbow bus. So yes someone is to blame.

Agreed. I remember bouncing on those things as a kid and they often had thick insulation tape strips on them covering holes and things. This should have been spotted and fixed before kids were allowed on it.

I would say only parents should be blamed! Mummy was supposed to watch him...he's only 3!

Oh for Gods sake! You think the mother should have gone around inspecting the play equipment in a public shopping centre and fixing any problems before the child got on it??! You think that was HER responsibility?! They probably wouldnt even LET an adult on the equipment to look at it, even if she was obsessive enough to have asked! I totally agree that bad and neglectful parenting can be seen on a daily basis here. But THIS was neither bad nor neglectful parenting so leave the poor parents alone!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The doctors could have re-attached the finger.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

When parents, supervisors and the shopping center operators can't understand that trampolines can even kill, how can we expect a 3-year-old to take care of himself.

These shopping centers give or set up anything to help the parents to get rid of their kids (nothing more than embarrassments for them) hoping for undisturbed shopping and spending more money. Courtesy. How nice.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

These shopping centers give or set up anything to help the parents to get rid of their kids (nothing more than embarrassments for them) hoping for undisturbed shopping and spending more money. Courtesy. How nice.

Yeah, sure, I regularly let my children bounce on inflatable buses because they are nothing more than an embarrassment to me and I want a few moments undisturbed shopping (usually 15-20 minutes is all they allow in these things). Not because it is fun, a great way to release some of their energy and because they love it.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@Educator60

Thank you very much. (^_^)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They'll put it back on no trouble!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nicky WashidaNov. 07, 2011 - 02:30PM JST

And I have many Japanese and non Japanese friends here with little children and they only feel disturbed when they can't have their young children by their side, they are happy to take their kids with them and shop together and after shopping together they take them to the child play ground and let them play, jump or whatever and teach them to play and enjoy themselves, and they wouldn't take their eyes off them until they are sure they have taught them everything to be safe including what their children love.

And I see people who guard their expensive cars like do don't know what and when going to the restaurant they park their cars in front of the window so that they could keep their eyes on it while eating while leaving their children in the playground without surveillance and I never met any "loving" parents who could convince me why I single minute they might need without their kids.

Maybe I attach too much importance to responsibility but I think if someone cannot be committed 24 hours a day to devote each and every minutes to their little kids, at least until they reach a safer age that could be, say 6 years, shouldn't even bother having children and play with something better than a live baby.

I don't care which group you belong to, not even interested in that as I don't know you and I didn't address you with my post to which you replied, yet if it affected you insulting that you needed to react so sensitively than you might want to examine yourself .

Fingers and lives can be lost in one minutes. I am with the kids.

And I personally never get excited when people are telling negative things in general if it doesn't apply to me.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Without knowing the details of how the finger was severed, I'm not about to start flinging blame around like feces. "A hole" is meaningless without further information. Was it a designed hole, a defect in manufacture, or due to incorrect maintenence/normal wear and tear? We don't know.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Fadamor

Checkout CrazyJoe's second link, supposed they show where the defect is on the raindow bus. It's in Japanese.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

wheres the mommy/dad/ or family member his only 3 years old for GOD sake this little boy need a company or to watch him every minutes ... dont blame the mall, blame the parents ??????

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Oh no! I hope the baby boy will be fine :(

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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