Swimming Pool Slides

6YOM FELL DOWN INFLATABLE SLIDE INTO A POOL OF WATER, HIT HEAD WITH LOC. DX: CONCUSSION

8 YOM HIT HIS HEAD ON THE SLIDE AT THE POOL. DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY

10YOF HAND PAIN WHEN GOING DOWN A WATER SLIDE INTO A SWIMMING POOL AT AN AT HOME BIRTHDAY POOL PARTYDX SPRAIN/ STRAIN L WRIST

3YOM GOING DOWN A SWIMMING POOL SLIDE INTO A POOL AND C/O EYELID LACDX FACIAL LAC

11YOF WAS SLIDING DOWN THE SLIDE AT A POOL STATED THAT SHE STRUCK THE SIDE OF THE SLIDE WITH HER FOOT AND ANKLE AND THEN ALSO STRUCK THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL. STATES HE HAS PAIN IN THE LATERAL ASPECT OF HER RIGHT ANKLE AND FOOT. DX: ANKLE SPRAIN AND STRAIN

12YOF WAS ON A SLIDE AT A SWIMMING POOL AND CUT ELBOW. DX LACERATION TO ELBOW

8 YOF SLIPPED OFF SLIDE OF ABOVE GROUND POOL LANDED ON ANKLE DX ANKLE FX

9 YOM HIT HEAD ON SLIDE OF SWIMMING POOL. DX FACE LACERATION, CLOSED HEAD INJURY

27YOF PRESENTS WITH ABDOMINAL PAIN AFTER GOING DOWN THE SWIMMING POOL SLIDE SEVERAL TIMES AT A RESORT; PATIENT IS PREGNANT AND THINKS SHE WAS 'BUMPED AROUND' DX: PELVIC CRAMPING, PELVIC AND PERINEAL PAIN

4 YOM FALL FROM POOL SLIDE DX HEAD INJURY

12YOM, GOING DOWN SWIMMING POOL SLIDE ON HIS A STOMACH WHEN HIT HIS FACE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE KNOCKING OUT HIS 2 FRONT TEETH DX: AVULSION OF MULTIPLE TEETH DUE TO TRAUMA; CLOSED FRACTURE OF NASAL BONE; OPEN FRACTURE OF MAXILLA

47YO UNK ***, WAS GOING HEAD FIRST DOWN A SWIMMING POOL SLIDE AND STRUCK NOSE ONTO THE EDGE OF THE SWIMMING POOL, NO LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, NOSE WAS BLEEDING PROFUSELY THEN BECAME LIGHTHEADED AND CONFUSED DX: CLOSED FRACTURE OF NASAL BONE; CLOSED HEAD INJURY; EPISTAXIS

Commercial slide produced by SR Smith ("Vortex"). A child was climbing up the slide ladder and fell off the ladder onto the deck below it. There is no defect in the slide, or ladder; however, the question is whether the idea of a metal ladder at 8 - 9 feet of height is appropriate for the slide. The slide is sold with two options: a ladder and a stair kit. Our slide was purchased with the ladder. The ladder provides access at a steeper angle and requires more coordination and strength to climb. A ladder provides no protection for a fall backwards. The concern is whether a ladder access to the slide top is appropriate given the other concepts around a summer pool. For example, the ladder is always wet, and while the stair treads have a rough surface, the hand railings can get slippery when they are wet. Also, children wear sun screen, which is very slipper, and makes the railing slick. A stairway, while presenting some of the same problems, appears to be a much better solution and we will likely be changing our ladder to a stairway as a result of the fall. The child that fell will thankfully suffer no long term injuries, but the fall from the top of the ladder indicated to me that there is a potential safety hazard that should be addressed - possibly by discontinuing the option of an open ladder to such a commercially offered slide and instead only selling it with a stairway. The fall also appears to have nothing to do with the treads, it wasn't a missed step or slip, the child fell straight backwards onto the deck below, it seems it was more a result of missing the coordination necessary to hold the steep railing while climbing up- something that a stair kit would assist.

I set up the Banzai Wave Crasher Surf Slide for my children ages 5 and 6. It clearly stated on the box, and in the directions that it is intended for children ages 5-12 up to 110 lbs. which both of my smaller children are at least half of that weight size. After properly setting up the slide according to every detail of the instructions it was immediately realized that this product was hazardous; as well as has a poor design. The slide is not even attached to the pool. The pool looses air for some reason, and once the children began attempting to slide the [REDACTED] that is supposed to attach the slide to the pool comes undone after it gets wet. Then when the children attempt to slide down the slide it tips over, and knocks them off causing them to land on various body parts. The inflatable walls on the sides of the slide easily bend down, and allow the children to go flying off in mid-slide. Half of the time they didn't even land in the pool, they land in the crack between the slide and the pool, or half in the pool half out of it if they even made it past the slide.

My neighbor, an adult man of average height and weight (in other words, BELOW the maximum weight limit of 200 lbs. as indicated on the water slide), went down the water slide on his stomach. Though as far as I can tell the slide did not deflate in any way, my neighbor hit the cement underneath the bottom of the slide. He surfaced in severe pain and was later diagnosed with a cardiac contusion...his HEART was bruised! We learned from Day 1 that the slide was not appropriate for adults, even adults well below the 200 lb. weight limit, and probably not for children such as pre-teens who are on the bigger side. We found out when my husband, brother-in-law and I each decided to give it a go, only to find that we painfully bumped our behinds on the cement underneath the bottom of the slide. Unfortunately, my neighbor was not aware of the "no adults" rule and was halfway down the slide before I realized he was on it, and I was unable to stop him in time. The below date SHOULD be correct--I know it was in the summer of 2009 and most likely on July 4th--but I checked off "estimated" to be safe.

We purchased a blow up water slide to go on the side of our in ground pool. When we used it, we inflated it correctly, put it in the correct position, we were under the weight limit. When I went down the slide, I hit my tailbone on the cement around the pool and damaged some discs in my back. 2 of my daughters also hit their tailbones.