A Brisbane man has won a huge payout after bouncing on a trampoline on Christmas Day 2017 left him with a life-changing injury.
Exercise physiotherapist Phillip Forostenko, 41, was a fit father-of-two, with another on the way, when the shocking injury happened at his sister’s home.
But more than six years later, he has been awarded almost $750,000 to compensate for past and future economic losses due to the injury after suing the manufacturer.
On the Christmas visit to his sister, Mr Forostenko found she had bought an oval O92 model Springfree trampoline, so he climbed up to try it out as an ‘experienced and enthusiastic user (and owner) of trampolines’.
A ‘slightly wayward jump’ caused him to land on the edge of the trampoline mat on the webbing, which covered a cleat that acted as a ball joint, a Supreme Court decision handed down on May 28 found.
Brisbane man Phillip Forostenko (pictured) has won a huge payout after bouncing on a trampoline on Christmas Day 2017 left him with a life-changing injury
‘On landing he felt hardness particularly focused under the right outer side of his right foot, about midway down the length of his foot,’ the decision said.
‘There was immediate pain.’
Mr Forostenko was later found to have suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture, which did not heal properly and later required surgery, reported 7News.
He then developed an infection requiring a hospital stay and antibiotics, and then he had another operation in June 2018.
The injury left him unable to perform the full duties of his physiotherapy job until a month later, but he had to take more time off due to the pain.
Mr Forostenko said he still suffers from ‘considerable ongoing pain’ and has had to modify his work as a result.
He said he feels he is now a ‘different person’ as his emotional health has also been affected by the injury.
The trampoline did not have any relevant safety warnings, the physiotherapist told the court.
It was advertised as having ‘no hard edges to land on’ and being one that people could ‘jump safely to the edge’ on.
The Supreme Court found that his injuries were caused by a safety defect.
More than six years later, Mr Forostenko has been awarded almost $750,000 to compensate for past and future economic losses due to the injury after suing the manufacturer (an example of a Springfree trampoline is pictured)
It found the warning labels on the trampoline were insufficient and did not instruct users not to jump on the edges of the mat.
The court also found that the edges having yellow webbing did not convey that care needed to be taken on this area.
Mr Forostenko claimed damages of around $3.92million, but the manufacturer argued it should not have to pay more than around $160,000.
Justice Melanie Hindman ruled in the injured man’s favour, awarding him $744,175, which included $388,763 for his past economic losses and $225,000 for future economic losses.