All children are naturally active and cheerful. They love to run, jump, have fun, and yell, and they enjoy spending time on the playgrounds. However, this does not always turn out to be safe. According to public health officials, about 200,000 children under the age of 14 are injured each year in the United States while playing on the playground. The most vulnerable age group is between the ages of 5 and 9.

Child injuries occur most often in urban indoor playgrounds and jungle gyms for toddlers, as well as playgrounds near the home and school. These situations are caused by inadequate supervision of the child or improper playground maintenance. If there is negligent maintenance, your child can file a lawsuit against the school, the employee in charge of maintenance. If the accident occurred on a county or city playground, you have full legal standing to sue the city or county.

Specifics of liability for injuries on playgrounds

Defendants in a playground injury case are the school board, the school district, or the individual school employee on duty at the time the injury occurred. In the case of a city playground, a lawsuit may be filed against the city, county, or local government for improper repair of defective play equipment or improper maintenance.

Lawsuits are filed within a specific time frame and as soon as possible. For this purpose, you should enlist the help of a lawyer who can properly and timely execute a lawsuit against the defendants, identify and name all responsible parties and entities.

Students who are on the playgrounds should be supervised appropriately. When an injury occurs to an injured child, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant improperly cared for the injured child and thereby breached his or her duties. This, in turn, caused the child to be injured or otherwise harmed. The laws of different states may vary somewhat. However, in most cases, school employees and administrators have a duty of care to all students in an appropriate manner. This includes school-sponsored activities. The school district must exercise reasonable care when supervising children enrolled in school. If any school staff member violates these duties, he or she may be found liable to the plaintiff for an injury to a child on the school playground.

When an injury can occur

When school personnel are negligent about the safety and supervision of children, it can take many forms. Injuries can occur on school, city, and county playgrounds for the following reasons:

– Inadequate supervision of school children on playgrounds;

– Inadequate qualifications of school personnel;

– Poor quality of lighting;

– Faulty or non-existent video surveillance cameras, both inside and outside the playground;

– Inadequate controls or security measures;

– Failure of those in charge to protect students from foreseeable risks;

– Lack of sufficient protection against the criminal acts of others who enter the school grounds.

When both school and city playgrounds are negligent as to the level of security on the grounds, the court may look to such factors as:

– The location of the playground;

– Information about previous accidents or incidents on the playground in question;

– Whether there are hazardous conditions on the playground;

– How aware school officials are of the risks;

– common types of injuries on the playground.

Types of playground injuries

Common body injuries that can occur on the playground include:
– sprains;
– bruises;
– Abrasions and cuts;
– Craniocerebral injuries;
– fractures;
– injuries from sexual assault;
– injuries resulting from fights;
– post-traumatic stress disorder;
– lacerations.

Craniocerebral injuries occur in 10% of cases. They have peculiarities that should be taken into account. For example, a mild form of CMP may not be visible on an MRI machine monitor. Also, head trauma may require a long recovery period or even years of treatment.

Because of the above, playgrounds should be safe for children of appropriate ages. A child should have fun and enjoyment without the risk of injury.

Parents and guardians expect city officials, as well as educators and school administrators, to understand the importance of caring for and protecting children. North America and the United States have always been especially sensitive to the protection of children’s rights.

Features of playgrounds in the United States

The United States of America installs outdoor and indoor playgrounds. In addition, parents can purchase a playground to be placed near the house. For the safest time, choose playgrounds that have a shock-absorbing surface. This can be sand or sawdust mulch. Also playgrounds are installed in areas planted with lawn grass. Structures should not have sharp corners. Fasteners are made of stainless steel. Rounded and flat heads are used in bolts. Also fasteners can be recessed into the main parts of structures and hidden. Joints between different pieces of equipment should be minimal. One-piece slides are always used for platforms. All plastic elements should be made of a safe and very durable polymer material that does not emit harmful substances into the environment.

Playground Insurance in the United States

In order to protect the rights of children as much as possible, all playgrounds should be insured. In addition, the people themselves are insured.

When buying playgrounds from Amazon or Way Fair, you can count on the availability of liability insurance. These companies oblige all sellers to buy this insurance when selling goods worth more than 10,000 dollars.

As you can see from the first part of this article, a plaintiff can easily prove that the defendant is at fault and still be able to claim a very high cost for his or her damages. By having insurance, you can be sure that the amount of compensation will not come out of your pocket, but will be paid by the insurance company.

The National Playground Safety Program recommends that outdoor play is fundamental to physical and mental health. Therefore, it is imperative that they have a place in every child’s life.