Legal liability for a serious or fatal playground accident in Illinois and Indiana
As we pointed out in our last post, there are those that will point to the parents whenever a child is seriously injured or killed as the result of a playground accident. This is unfair and in many instances, unfounded.
While statistics reveal children are at a tremendous risk of bodily injury when playing on a playground, no matter their age, there is no correlation to parental responsibility for the over 200,000 serious playground accidents in this country each year.
For more on the risks of a serious or fatal playground accident, read “Playground Dangers in Indiana and Illinois: The Risks Facing Kids on Playgrounds.”
Parents may find the laws of Indiana or Illinois will define legal liability for their child’s injuries, establishing a legal duty for one or more defendants to keep the child safe while at play. The failure to meet this duty, which causes harm to the child, will support a claim for damages as the parents search for justice for their child.
Public vs Private Playgrounds
Children are invited to play on playground equipment on property owned by the government as well as private owners (like restaurants, resorts, hotels, etc.). Federal, state, county, and municipal parks are scattered across our part of the country.
Parents should not assume that any accident on government property bars an injury claim. Injuries to a child on a public playground may form the basis of a legal claim against one or more parties.
Sovereign immunity may not be allowed as a defense for the governmental entity that owns and operates the playground where the accident occurred. Under state and federal law, governmental jurisdictions have a duty to make sure that government property (i.e., public property) is safe for visitors.
However, things are different when a public playground is involved. Parents need to know that their claims may face different deadlines (shorter); and specific forms may be required to assert and define their claims for damages. For example, pursuant to 29 C.F.R. 14.2, GSA Standard Form 95 must be used in the notice of public playground injury claim (for serious injuries or death) to the federal government.
1. Flawed Design of Play Equipment or Playground Surfaces
After any serious playground accident, a detailed investigation should be undertaken to determine what happened and the cause of the child’s injuries. Expert analysis may be needed here, particularly if there is a concern that either the playground equipment or the play surfaces contributed to the event.
Novel play equipment may be provided in a park or school, with a twist on the traditional slide, swing, or seesaw. The novelty may hide a manufacturing defect or a design flaw.
Product liability is a common basis for playground accident claims. If a flaw in playground equipment, like a horizontal bar with a cutting metal edge, causes harm then it is considered a dangerous and defective product.
The product liability laws of Indiana and Illinois may provide a legal basis for a claim against the equipment manufacturer (and perhaps its distributor, installer, etc., too).
2. Repair and Maintenance
Closely akin to product liability cases are investigations that reveal a flaw in the playground equipment caused the harm – but the flaw was not the result of a design error but instead because of neglect or mistake in the repair and upkeep of the playground equipment.
Here, the parties with a duty to inspect the playground equipment may be held legally responsible for the playground accident caused by things like a swing that fails, etc. Falls caused by problems with the playground surface may also result in this kind of legal claim.
Those who have a responsibility to maintain the playground must not only keep up the equipment but the grounds, as well. If a child is seriously injured due to a fall caused by a crack in the concrete, a hole in the play surface, etc., then state personal injury laws may form the basis of a legal claim against them for damages resulting from the playground accident.
3. Supervisors and Caretakers
Anyone who takes on the responsibility of watching over children at play on a playground must understand they have a legal duty as adult supervisors of the kids. This is true not only for school teachers, coaches, and teaching assistants; it is also true for nannies, babysitters, or even a neighbor who offers to take the neighborhood kids to the park.
Anyone who undertakes a duty of care to supervise a child may face a claim for injury damages if that child is harmed on the playground.
Adult supervision means checking to make sure the playground equipment appears to be safe for play (although this duty may not extend to hidden defects, etc.). It also involves the adult watching over the children to stop kids from roughhousing, running, pushing, or otherwise taking actions that may increase the chance they will get hurt on the playground or while using its equipment.
If the adult is an employee or agent of a company or legal entity, like a school district or private daycare, then that entity may also be held legally liable for the playground accident which resulted from inadequate supervision.
Claims for Children Hurt in Playground Accidents: Illinois and Indiana
This month’s National Playground Safety Week (April 22 – 26, 2019) works to increase public awareness of the risks our children face while at play on a public or private playground here in Indiana or Illinois.
Parents must understand the very real danger their children face while at play on a playground, including serious or permanent brain injury or death.
For parents dealing with the aftermath of a playground tragedy, it is vital they know the need for a thorough investigation into the causes of the playground accident and the possible legal claims that may be available to them and their injured child.
Our state and federal laws may provide avenues for justice when a child has been seriously injured on a playground in Indiana or Illinois. Legal liability for a playground accident, on either a public playground or a privately owned property, may be based upon negligence, premises liability, defective product statutes, or other personal injury law. Please be careful out there!
