Playgrounds are supposed to be safe places for children to play and enjoy being young and carefree. However, every day a child is injured in a playground. Many playground accidents are just the results of kids being kids. Sadly, many playground accidents could easily have been prevented. When your child has been injured because of someone else’s carelessness or negligence, you need to protect your child’s legal rights. A dedicated personal injury lawyer can help you and your child get the full compensation you are entitled to.
Types and Causes of Playground Accidents
Some playground accidents are just the results developing bodies and the forces of gravity. Not every skinned knee, or even broken arm, gives rise to a personal injury claim. However, there are a significant number of playground accidents that were caused by negligence, carelessness, or even intentional actions of adults.
Some common causes of playground accidents include:
- Defective playground equipment
- Improper supervision
- Dangerous environmental factors
- Poorly maintained grounds
- Poorly maintained equipment
- Failure to properly train staff
- Failure to clean equipment and areas around playground equipment
Sometime a piece of playground equipment is known to be dangerous, but because of budget considerations, or lack of attention, the dangerous equipment is left in place until someone gets hurt. Other times the playground equipment itself is fine, but the adults responsible for supervising children do not do their job and children are hurt.
Some of the most dangerous playground accidents involve a combination of factors. Often more than one person or organization is legally liable for the injury a child sustained.
Playground Accident Injuries
Playground injuries are often more severe than other types of injuries because children are not wearing safety equipment as they play and their bodies are small enough to get trapped, tangled, and twisted in ways not possible for an adult.
Some examples of playground injuries include:
- Fractured bones
- Torn ligaments
- Sprains and strains
- Lacerations and abrasions
- Traumatic head injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Eye injuries
- Ear injuries
- Severe allergic reactions
- Cancer
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burns
There are two different types of playground accident injuries. Acute injuries are things such as falling, burns from a hot slide, wounds from a broken piece of equipment, or getting tangled in some piece of equipment. These injuries are often obvious right away, though some acute injuries take a few days or weeks before any symptoms are manifested.
The other type of playground accident injury is an exposure injury. These are cases where children, and sometimes adults are exposed to environmental toxins over a period of time. It could something like asbestos or lead paint used on the equipment. It takes years of exposure to these toxins before the first signs of trouble show up. Often, those exposed to these toxins develop autoimmune diseases and cancers.
If you believe you or your child has been injured in a playground accident or exposed to toxic materials, you need to get a medical exam as quickly as possible.
Dealing With Claims Against the Government
Playground accident claims can be difficult to resolve fairly because they involve some any different legal issues. Since most playgrounds are owned by a government entity of some kind, there are often extra legal hurdles to getting a claim paid.
All states have a statute of limitations that applies to personal injury cases. This means that a case must be brought within a certain time period or the victim loses all legal rights to compensation. In cases with children these time limits can be extended. But, all states also have give special protections to government entities such as cities, counties, and school districts. Some of these special protections include requirements that a notice of a claim be filed with the government within weeks or months of the accident.
These rules may even apply to cases involving children. Failing to follow all of the steps in a timely manner can result in your child never being able to get the proper compensation for his or her injuries.
Another issue in playground accident cases is that governments will seek to remove evidence of faulty playground equipment as quickly as possible. This may mean that even if it is not legally too late to bring a claim, the evidence supporting the claim has already disappeared and it is even more difficult to prove the government was at fault for the accident. It is crucial that parents take action right away after a playground accident to retain a personal injury lawyer.
You don’t have to deal with all of the deadlines, red tape, and refusal to make a fair offer by yourself. You need a skilled personal injury lawyer with a successful track record. We can help you find the right lawyer for your case. Make sure your child doesn’t miss out the damages he or she should be paid just because the process was too complicated. Contact us today and we will help you find the right personal injury lawyer in your area for your case.
Because of the short time limits on injury cases, especially ones involving schools and cities, you need to get started right away.
