Common Playground Injuries and How to Stay Safe

Broken bones, cuts, contusions, strains, and sprains. These aren’t just the kind of injuries people suffer in car accidents or while playing a contact sport. They are also common playground injuries.

According to the Children’s Safety Network (CSN), each year nearly 220,000 children are treated in emergency rooms throughout the country for playground-related injuries. If your child was injured because someone else was negligent, you may have a legal case and could be entitled to compensation. The time frame you have to file your case is limited, so contact an Ohio child injury lawyer today.

To speak with an experienced Ohio personal injury attorney about your child’s playground injuries and your eligibility to recover damages, call Kisling, Nestico & Redick at 1-800-HURT-NOW or use our online form to schedule a free initial consultation.

Beware of These Playground Hazards!

It’s unlikely any of us think of playgrounds as danger zones. Especially considering just how far playgrounds have come since the days of scorching hot metal slides perched on asphalt schoolyards.

Even so, the CSN reports that the most common playground injuries are:

• Falls from equipment
• Equipment failures including breaking, tipping, poor design or incorrect assembly
• Collisions among other children or with equipment
• Entrapment

Common Playground Injuries

• Bone Fractures. These can range from hairline to compound fractures requiring anywhere from several weeks to several months to heal.
• Contusions. Commonly known as bruising, contusions occur when blood vessels are damaged or broken due to a direct force to a muscle. Contusions can be mild to severe and like bone fractures can take several months to fully heal.
• Strains. A strain is when a muscle or tendon is overstretched or torn. The most common causes of muscle strains are fatigue and overuse.
• Sprains. Not to be confused with a strain, a sprain occurs when a ligament is stretched or torn.

My Child Was Hurt on a Playground. What Should I Do?

If your child was seriously injured on a playground or at a park, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. If you do in fact have a legal claim, having documentation of your child’s injuries will be imperative.

Next, examine the cause of your child’s injury. There are countless reasons why a child is injured on a playground. Two common legal theories that apply in these types of cases are negligence and premises liability.

Negligence

In order to make a claim of negligence against the person or organization responsible for your children’s injuries you’ll need to prove:

• The party had a duty to protect your child;
• The party breached, or failed to carry out, that duty;
• The party’s failure to carry out their duty caused your child’s injuries; and,
• Your child was indeed harmed, or injured.

Premises Liability

For a premises liability claim, it is necessary to determine who owns the equipment and property on which your child was injured. Was it at a public school, city park or private residence. Additionally, you must determine the status of your child at the time of the injury. Status means the type of visitor they were at the time of injury. For instance, they may have been an invited guest. Or perhaps you had to pay to enter the premises, which changes their status.

Let KNR Help You

It is necessary to prove all these elements to have a successful claim for negligence or premises liability. That is why it is beneficial to have an experienced child injury lawyer help you.

Filing any lawsuit is difficult. And filing a lawsuit on behalf of your child makes it that much more so. Let the attorneys at Kisling, Nestico & Redick help you sort out your claim. You may be able to recover damages for your child’s playground injuries—both short- and long-term.

Contact us today at 1-800-HURT-NOW or through our online form to schedule your free initial consultation.