AUSTRALIAN WATERSLIDES AND LEISURE
A leading designer and manufacturer of innovative waterslides and attractions, Australian Waterslides and Leisure (AWL) is also able to advise clients in the areas of concept and design, feasibility…
read moreRosemary Gamble, the jumping castle operator charged with workplace safety breaches over the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy of December 2021 in which six children died has pleaded not guilty to health and safety charge in Court today.
In the Devonport Magistrates Court, Gamble, who traded as Taz-Zorb, this morning entered a plea of not guilty to a failure to comply with health and safety duty.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt were killed after the inflatable castle being operated by Taz-Zorb was lifted into the air during the pre-Christmas school event in 2021.
She was granted bail and is expected to next appear in Court in March.
At that next session, Gamble's lawyer will indicate whether expert evidence will be pursued, and if they have any witness issues.
Magistrate Duncan Fairley said he was mindful that "significant" time had passed since the school tragedy, and that he is eager for the trial to commence soon.
It is alleged the castle was tethered at only four of its eight anchorage points, that pegs were not installed at the recommended 45-degree angle and pegs recommended by the manufacturer, or a suitable alternative, weren't used.
According to court documents, seven students were on the inflatable device when a 'significant' weather event occurred, causing it to become dislodged and airborne.
They fell from the device, while a blower attached to the castle to keep it inflated struck a nearby student.
It is also claimed that workers did not receive the necessary information, training, instruction and supervision to properly set up the device, with the total of these actions having exposed the children to "a risk of serious injury or death".
A profanity was yelled at Gamble from the parent one of the deceased as she exited the Court building.
Image: A jumping castle understood to be similar to the one at the centre of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy. Credit: Taz-Zorb website.
22nd December 2023 - Court document alleges jumping castle operator in Tasmanian school tragedy failed to secure all anchor points
17th November 2023 - Charges laid over Tasmanian inflatable castle tragedy that killed six children
10th October 2023 - Further delay to Hillcrest jumping castle inquest as Coroner still denied access to WorkSafe report
19th May 2023 - Court sentences man behind arson attacks on rival Melbourne jumping castle operators to 11-year jail term
22nd February 2023 - Inquest into Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle deaths cannot commence as WorkSafe refuses to release findings to coroner
19th October 2022 - Tragedy of Hillcrest Primary School jumping castle deaths acknowledged by Tasmanian Coroner
4th February 2022 - AALARA sets up Safe Operation of Inflatables Sub Committee
11th January 2022 - Royal Life Saving issues reminder on waterborne inflatable safety
30th December 2021 - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland issues reminder on key safety controls for landborne inflatables
20th December 2021 - Sixth child dies as a result of Tasmanian jumping castle tragedy as operator shuts down website
17th December 2021 - Tasmanian authorities introduce schools jumping castle ban
17th December 2021 - Insurer Sportscover surprised by Small Business Ombudsman’s support for attractions mutual fund
16th December 2021 - Five children dead after inflatable jumping castle blown into air at Tasmanian school
18th November 2021 - Risk management the key to way out of attractions industry’s insurance crisis
20th October 2021 - Ombudsman’s insurance crisis report says ‘the show must go on’
26th August 2021 - ASTM International Standard for inflatable attractions to be adopted into 2024 International Fire Code
2nd August 2021 - AALARA works through solution to insurance market challenges
4th February 2020 - WorkSafe Queensland prosecution results in $50,000 fine following inflatable amusement ride injury
25th October 2019 - Children fall 8 metres to the ground after winds lift inflatable slide into the air in Western Sydney
16th January 2019 - New solution to fix tears on inflatable play equipment
13th July 2017 - Royal Adelaide Show ride owners fined $157,000 over child’s death, but unlikely to pay up
30th June 2015 - Appeal of jumping pillow decision falls flat
29th October 2014 - Uncertainty surrounds future of inflatable play standard
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