Who is Liable for Playground Accidents & Injuries?

It is quite a common for a child to get injured while playing in a playground. This playground may be in school, daycare center, Community Park, private schools, and even at home outside in the garden area.

Majority of these injuries either occur due to unsafe behavior by children or as a result of negligence on the part of the playground authorities who fail to detect unsafe playing equipment like a metal slide and the like. In this article, we give a brief overview of what are the options available for parents of a child who unfortunately might have suffered a playground accident.

This article will cover as to who is liable for playground accidents or injuries and if there is any indication of negligence on the part of the concerned authority then the parents might be eligible for compensation and claim due to playground accident and injuries.

Most of the cases of Playground Accidents and Injuries occur in schools and Community Parks. In such cases, it is the duty of the school and the playground staff to make sure that children are protected from any foreseeable dangers within the premises of the school or the Community Park.

In order to get a claim for a Playground Accidents and Injuries due to employee negligence within the premises of a school or Community Park then the parents will have to have certain proofs to include CCTV camera footage showing that the child was hurt when playing and using things that were belonging to the school or the Community Park.

The parents should also prove that the injured child was of the right age to be playing on the property where he or she was injured. The parents should also be able to prove that the Playground Accidents and Injuries caused to the child were a result of employee negligence as the equipment with which the child was hurt was not managed properly by the staff.

Citing an example, if a child was injured while playing on a metal slide in which the edge of the slide was protruding slightly outward and the child got a deep cut on the legs or arms. In this case, the parents will be eligible for compensation by the school or park authorities as the authorities did not take proper care of the equipment resulting in injury to the child.

If these facts are put forward with the help of a personal injury attorney to plan a case against the school or the park authorities then the parents may get compensation for Playground Accidents and Injuries caused to their child.

Additionally, a parent can get compensation for Playground Accidents and Injuries if the person in charge of supervising the children playing does not do the job the way he or she should have done resulting in the injury to the child.

It is the duty of the school staff and teachers to make sure that the child is playing in a safe environment and that there are no dangers of the child being injured in any way. Same goes for Community Parks where there are supervisors deployed to oversee whether the children are safe and away from any foreseeable dangers.

To get personal injury claims in such instances, the parents need to prove that the person in charge did not do his or her job of monitoring the child properly enough and because of their negligence the child was injured.

Citing an example of such an instance is that during recess break in school when the students are allowed to move around in the classroom a fight erupts between two children and one child sustains a fracture in the incident. This is a classic case of negligence on the part of the supervisor or teacher monitoring the students and the parents are eligible to file a law suit against the school and are eligible to get compensation from the school.

However, there are certain states which provide immunity to schools from lawsuits and this may prevent the parents from getting compensation which they rightfully deserve. For this, the parent needs to consult an experienced personal injury attorney who is well versed with the laws of the state who can best provide guidance on matters concerning Playground Accidents and Injuries.

It should be noted that the immunity of lawsuits exist for government schools and parks and no immunity is given to private schools and daycare centers and hence the role of an personal injury attorney becomes that much more important as to decide how best to proceed with the case so that the parents can get claim for Playground Accidents and Injuries. 

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Also Read:

• Joint Dislocation in Contact Sports or Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Accidents: Personal Injury Implications and Compensation Options
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Accidents Caused by Cars: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention