Who Is Liable For Your Child’s Playground Injuries?
by King Law
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children between the ages of 5 and 9 have an exceptionally high rate of injury on the playground. Thousands of children across the nation are sent to emergency rooms and urgent care after falling or other accidents on playground equipment. If this has happened to you, there’s little that can compensate for the pain and suffering your family has already experienced.
The good news, however, is that you may be able to hold the guilty parties accountable for their negligence. At King Law, our Rochester personal injury attorney Robert King can fight on your behalf, and for the crucial compensation that your family needs to heal. In this post, we’ll touch on some of the most common causes for school playground injuries, and who may be liable for damages.
MOST COMMON TYPES OF PLAYGROUND INJURIES
Playground equipment is designed to help children move in-between educational lessons. This can be beneficial when used correctly, but destructive when used poorly. Unfortunately, children do not have the judgment of adults when it comes to assessing their own limits, and they may take risks that are too dangerous for them to successfully avoid injury.
According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, more than 200,000 children each year are treated at the emergency room for injuries from a playground, and the most common ones result from falling. From climbers to swings to slides, there are a number of reasons your child might fall, and a number of injuries that can accompany that fall.
Some of the most prevalent types of playground injuries that your child may have sustained include:
- Sprained arms and ankles
- Broken or fractured bones, especially in the arm
- Cuts and scrapes from woodchips or pavement
- Concussions and head wounds
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Back and spinal cord injuries
- Dislocated shoulders or legs
WHO CAN I HOLD ACCOUNTABLE FOR SCHOOL PLAYGROUND INJURIES?
Although adults must be responsible for their own movements, there is a good reason that we typically place young children in the care and supervision of other adults. When those adults fail to properly monitor our children, the injuries can be catastrophic, and this may constitute negligence in some cases.
Negligence is the legal theory on which most personal injury cases are won. In essence, it means that if a particular school teacher or staff member had a legal obligation to warn and protect your child, but failed to do so, they can be considered negligent. When negligence occurs, the civil courtroom allows you to seek compensation that can cover the cost of your child’s medical bills, as well as other long-term treatments.
Child injuries are also unique, in that children’s brains are not fully formed yet. Although thankfully most playground injuries fall on the less-severe side of the spectrum, there’s a possibility that your child may sustain lasting emotional and physical damage after their accident. This is called “nominal damage,” and it is a claim unique to child injury cases.
Some of the possible parties who could be liable for your child’s injuries include:
- The school district
- Any teachers on duty
- The assigned recess monitor
- Lunch or janitorial staff
- The school nurse who attended your child
- Office staff
It can be extremely difficult to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against school staff, as public schools are technically government entities. In order to get the compensation you need, you should consider consulting with a skilled personal injury attorney, one with experience in handling child injury cases. Our attorney Robert King can provide just that: as a Super Lawyers Rising Star with an impeccable record of success, he is fully committed to getting the results that you need and you deserve.
Contact King Law today at (585) 270-8882 for a consultation, or fill out our form online to get in touch.
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