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California Cities Act to Increase Premises Safety, Minimize Injury Liability

The threat of California premises lawyers holding them accountable for negligence has many cities in our state acting to make these premises safer.

In recent years, several laws have been passed providing some degree of immunity to these cities against liability on certain premises. For instance, skateboarding parks that see a higher incidence of injuries enjoy stronger immunity laws.  However as city attorneys are seeing, these laws may protect the city from liability to some extent in case of injuries, but are no guarantee against litigation. Attorneys representing cities in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties are advising their clients to enhance safety measures at parks and other premises to minimize their liability further.

According to a report in PE.com, attorneys and managers are advising city authorities to make sure that design of these parks in no way contributes to an accident, and that the park is properly constructed and maintained.  They are focusing especially hard on ramps and rails that allow users to show off their balance and strength abilities. These must be maintained regularly, and any repairs necessary must be taken undertaken immediately, for cities to protect themselves from liability.

In the 70s, a string of lawsuits against cities and owners of private skateboarding parks in California led to laws that now limit liability in case of accidents at these parks. You may still be able to bring a lawsuit against the city for injury in a skateboarding park, but the onus is on the victim to submit extraordinary proof that the city was negligent. In several cases unfortunately, these new laws have helped city officials to cut corners on safety because of the limited liability. For instance, there are hardly any supervisors at the Blair Skate Park in San Bernardino.

In California, cities haven’t been the target of premises liability lawsuits from injuries in park and playgrounds the way cities in other states have. In states like Florida, cities and even school districts, have gone berserk trying to prevent liability by stripping their playgrounds of most equipment. In contrast, typical personal injury lawsuits against San Bernardino are related to automobile accidents that involve city employees or police arrests. Similarly, the many parks and playgrounds in Riverside County have not really proved to be liabilities for the city.

California’s cities are investing in enhanced safety features to protect children from injuries in playground and parks. For instance, many newer playgrounds come sans metal slides that can injure children. Swings come with coated chains that can prevent lacerations and plastic seats than can prevent cuts and injuries. Authorities are also using padded ground to cushion children from injuries during falls. Statistics show that most playground injuries are related to falling off playground equipment. Padding can cushion these falls, preventing serious injuries like head injuries.

Keeping premises safe, whether a public playground or a private restaurant, is the responsibly of the owner.  It encourages many California premises liability lawyers, when they see cities taking their responsibilities more seriously.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of premises liability. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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