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Playground Injuries are Entirely Preventable

Last month, the family of a little girl in New York, filed a lawsuit against the city after their daughter suffered serious burn injures, when she ran on the hot rubber matting after playing near a sprinkler. The incident provides the right time for California personal injury lawyers to focus on the dangers from playground injuries and preventing these.

4-year-old Isabella Kern was playing at a park. She removed her shoes and played in a sprinkler, and then, as children are wont to do, ran barefooted onto the matting. Almost immediately, she suffered serious burn injuries, and had to be treated at a hospital. Her parents sued the city, as any personal injury lawyer would have advised them to do under the circumstances. The city should have known that the black rubber matting could be heated to dangerously high temperatures, and pose a serious risk of burn injuries for children who would likely run from the sprinkler and onto the matting.

The family was probably not prepared for what happened next. The city responded by filing a lawsuit against the victims, alleging that there were signs warning parents not to allow their children to run barefooted on the mats. The rubber matting on a hot summer day can reach up to 160⁰ temperature.

The Kerns insist that there were no such signs in the park where Isabella was injured. However, after their complaint, a sign came up with a warning against walking on the matting barefoot. It isn’t the first time New York City has faced lawsuits arising from burns caused by heated rubber matting. Yet, several playgrounds continue to use the rubbing matting aware that this can cause injuries on contact.

According to Safe Kids USA, every year approximately 200,000 children suffer playground injuries that require emergency room treatment. Approximately, 90,000 of these injuries include fractures, and even amputations. Every year, an estimated 15 children die from injuries that occur on a playground.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that most of these injuries occur when children fall down from playground equipment. Although parents of these children or other caregivers will likely be around when the children fall, they may not be able to reach the children in time to prevent a fall. Besides, very often playgrounds are improperly maintained. In fact, in most playgrounds, the padding that is designed to protect against injuries during falls, can soon wear away. When these are not refilled, children have nothing to protect them during a fall.

The problems of lack of maintenance are severe, and California has not been unaffected. In 2007, California officials conducted a study on the safety of rubber playground chips, and found that approximately 70 percent of the surfaces lacked enough absorbency to provide cushioning against falls. Safe Kids USA says that swings and climbing equipment must have cushioning that has at least 9 inches of loose fill material. The CPSA advises that play equipment must never be built of concrete or grass. Instead, wood mulch or chips must be used.

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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