Richmond trampoline park denies responsibility for man's death

Richmond's Extreme Air Park is alleging that a man who died in a trampoline accident last year ignored warnings from the park's employees and misused the facility's equipment.

The trampoline park filed its response this month to a lawsuit from the family of Victoria's Jason Jerome (Jay) Greenwood, who died at the facility on Jan. 20, 2018. His three stepchildren witnessed the fatal accident.

The park alleges it did not owe or breach any duty of care to Greenwood.

"Extreme Air states that at all material times, it took reasonable care to ensure that the premises were reasonably safe for use by all persons who exercised a reasonable degree of care and caution for their own safety," the response to the family's claim says.

Greenwood's widow, Tanya Hayes, filed suit last fall against the park, an unnamed employee and its landlord, claiming loss of love, guidance and companionship as well as loss of financial support. Hayes and the couple's three children are all named as plaintiffs.

According to Hayes' claim in B.C. Supreme Court, Greenwood died after jumping into a foam pit "in a somersault-like motion."

The widow alleges Extreme Air Park failed to properly supervise andgive instructions at the foam pit. Her claim also suggests there wasn't enough foam in the pit, and that it wasn't set up to support the weight of gymnasts.

Parkin 'reasonably safe' condition

Extreme Air Park has denied all of those claims, and alleges Greenwood was either too tired, drunk or high to use the facility safely. It says its facility was "kept in a condition that was reasonably safe given all the circumstances."

Its response also alleges Greenwood wasn't paying enough attention to what he was doing and failed to follow the instructions he was given by employees, and that the release agreement he signed with the park protects it from any lawsuits.

The park's landlord, 14380 Triangle Road Investments, has also filed a response to the family's claim, denying it owed a duty of care to Greenwood.

None of the claims in the lawsuit or the responses have been proven in court.

At the time of Greenwood's death, Richmond RCMP said he was "allegedly performing a series of acrobatic manoeuvres" before falling and suffering cardiac arrest.

The company has said Greenwood was the first person to die in its facilities out of more than one million visitors.