Nine-year-old boy falls from Flip Out climbing wall in Canberra

A nine-year-old boy has reportedly fallen at least 4.5 metres after he was disconnected from his safety harness at the Flip Out centre near Canberra Airport last weekend.

The ABC reports that a Canberra's WorkSafe watchdog has warned parents and carers to report any safety concerns at play centres following the boy’s fall.

The boy fell from what the centre's ‘clip and climb’ attraction, which WorkSafe ACT issued a prohibition notice to temporarily close after the incident.

According to the ABC, the boy’s mother advised "I saw my son coming towards me with just blood everywhere, coming out all over his face and things. And he was screaming and sort of staggering. He was just by himself coming towards me and then I put my hand over his face, his nose, to try to stem the bleeding and, yeah, it was all quite surreal."

The boy was taken to hospital and, two days later, his mother said he had a stiff neck, breathing difficulties and cuts to his mouth.

The mother told the ABC "he's at home and we're just continuing to monitor him, but, yeah, he seems to be OK so far."

ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner Jacqueline Agius told ABC Radio Canberra "as long as the controls are in place and the controls are adequate, we shouldn't see these sorts of incidents occur, and we should not be seeing children get injured.

"There was clearly a safe system of work that could have been in place in the particular facility, and it was not in place."

Flip Out says staff provided safety instructions to users of the climbing wall.

Flip Out Australia Director, Steve Stone released a statement noting that staff on site had provided "full and complete" instructions to users of the climbing wall, "in line with our approved safety procedures and standards.

"Unfortunately, in this instance, the participant did not adhere to the instructions given about safety procedures and standards and suffered an injury.”

The boy's mother responded to the statement, disputing the centre’s version of events.

Stone said the company was "saddened by the event", and had "offered all the assistance we can in the circumstances.

"Given that Flip Out has a perfect safety record across all of its arenas Australia-wide for our clip and climb activity since it was introduced as an activity several years ago, we are disappointed that this incident has occurred," he said.

However, under its former ownership Flip Out was understood to have had a poor safety record.

Agius said some indoor play centres required parents and carers to sign a waiver, but that waiver did not absolve the centre of its responsibilities for safety.

Agius advised that a commonsense approach was the best option for parents when considering whether to let their children use play equipment and shared "trust your gut. If you look at it and you think, 'That just isn't cutting it for me, I feel like that's not something I want my child climbing up,' don't let them go on it.”

Image courtesy Flip Out Majura