Three years on from the jumping castle tragedy that killed six Tasmanian children, their families have launched a class action against the state government and the equipment operator.
The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court by Maurice Blackburn, alleges that the state and Taz-Zorb, the company responsible for the jumping castle, failed to ensure the children’s safety.
The case is led by Georgina Burt and Andrew Dodt, whose sons, Zane and Peter, were among the six children who died in 2021.
The suit argues that the state, as the operator of the school, and the company had a duty of care to the students. It claims they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent harm.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt lost their lives on December 16, 2021.
They were celebrating the end of the school year when a strong gust of wind lifted the jumping castle and zorb balls they were in into the air at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport.
“The families affected by the tragedy of what happened at Hillcrest feel the pain and the trauma of their loss every day,” Maurice Blackburn lawyer Dimi Ioannou said in a statement.
“Nothing will erase the suffering or bring back their lost children.”
“What these families hope to achieve through this class action is some accountability for what happened on that day.”
“This class action is the first step in the path to securing a measure of justice for the families affected by the Hillcrest tragedy.”
The lawsuit is open to those directly or indirectly impacted, including injured children, witnesses and close relatives of the victims.
