Mum will sue Dinotropolis at Bluewater after son's leg injury
06:00, 13 December 2019
updated: 09:28, 13 December 2019
A mother has criticised a children's play centre after her son was left needing eight stitches when he cut his leg on a slide.
Oliver Odlum wounded his leg at Dinotropolis in Bluewater, near Dartford.
Mum Delia says he isn't happy with how the incident was dealt with, claiming her and Oliver were left waiting for a wheelchair and told an ambulance wouldn't be called.
But the play centre said its staff did take the accident seriously and acted immediately to provide first aid.
Dinotropolis say they were told by the ambulance service a vehicle would not come out due to the injury being classed as "minor" and explained the shopping centre is responsible for providing a wheelchair, not them.
The incident happened in November last year, a few weeks after the dinosaur-themed soft play park opened.
Now, Ms Odlum, 44, is taking legal action and wants other parents to "be aware of the dangers these play areas pose".
She said: "My son had to have eight stitches to a deep wound, which at the time a trainee manageress who was sent to deal with us insisted was just a minor cut and compared it to a shaving cut, even though she hadn't seen the wound as it was dress with bandages by another member of staff.
"I was told by one member of staff an ambulance would be called, only to later be told it wasn't needed and I should get a taxi or drive myself.
"At the time I was in shock, having a panic attack as I was so worried. We were told to wait outside and ended up waiting for a couple hours.
"The manageress came out with two members of staff and we were told they would walk us to our car, which was over the other side of the complex. I demanded a wheelchair at that point but was made to feel like an inconvenience."
The accountant says her son, who was 11-years-old at the time, was left shaken.
"Oliver had just started secondary school and had to take time off during an important part of settling in," the Sussex resident said.
"He was unable to do any of his after school actives such as swimming and kickboxing due to the nature of the wound.
"It was also quite painful for Oliver due to the extent of bruising to the area and the healing of the wound was taking some time.
"It was at this point I decided to look into claiming for his injury and expenses lost as a result.
"My son has now been left with a deep and very visible scar on his leg which he is very embarrassed about to the extent he won't even go swimming any more."
Following the incident last year Ms Odlum has called for a health inspection of the park. Dinotropolis say an investigation has been carried out and no faults were found at the centre.
Spokesman for the company Liam Herbert said: "We have taken this incident very seriously. An injury occurred to the young person, who was employed by the marketing agency working on a promotional photoshoot on site.
"We acted immediately with staff on site providing first aid and liaising with the emergency responder team at Bluewater. An offer was made for a taxi to take the boy and his mother to hospital, but they decided to go in their own vehicle.
"A thorough investigation was conducted, and the incident reported to the relevant authorities – all of whom have found no fault in any of the equipment or the actions taken by our team on site.
"The safety of everyone using Dinotropolis is obviously a priority for our business and we have stringent health and safety protocols and training in place.
"This was an unfortunate accident, where no direct cause can be identified. It was clearly a nasty cut and we did all we could to help and support at the time for what was a distressing experience for both the young man and his mother.”
