Who’s Liable for Playground Injuries? Can Parents File an Accident Claim or Lawsuit?

Here’s what to do if your child is seriously injured on the playground. Learn who is liable and how to get fair compensation for your child.

Every year more than 200,000 children under the age of 14 are treated in emergency rooms for playground injuries.¹

Jungle gyms and swings contribute to most playground injuries, and playgrounds in low-income neighborhoods have more maintenance-related hazards than in other communities.²

Sometimes when our kids get hurt, it’s purely accidental. But when your child is seriously injured on a playground because of faulty equipment or someone’s negligence, your child deserves compensation.

6 Steps to Take After a Playground Injury

Here’s what parents and guardians can do to protect the health and welfare of a child after a playground injury. First, look after the child’s physical injuries. Then, take steps to gather the evidence you’ll need to prove negligence and support the value of your child’s injury claim.

1. Get Prompt Medical Treatment

Call 911 for suspected concussions or broken bones. If your child isn’t transported directly to the hospital from the playground, take them for a medical evaluation the same day.

If your pediatrician isn’t available, go to the nearest emergency room or urgent care center. Tell the medical provider and any specialists who treat your child exactly when, where, and how your child was injured.

Delaying medical treatment will seriously undermine your child’s injury claim, making it very difficult to prove the injuries happened on the playground.

2. Take Pictures and Videos

Photographs and videos can illustrate the dangerous condition that caused your child’s injury. Because the playground property owner or manager may rush to repair the dangerous condition, it’s vital you move quickly to photograph and video the scene.

Take pictures of your child’s injuries as soon as possible after the accident, and throughout the recovery period. These pictures will tell the tale of your child’s suffering. Photographs of your child in a hospital bed, in a wheelchair, or wearing a cast can be very compelling evidence.

3. Find Potential Witnesses

Written or recorded statements from anyone who witnessed the incident are very important. Not only can they support the cause of your child’s injury, but they can also affirm the pain and suffering your child experienced immediately afterward.

Make sure you have the full name and contact information of each witness.

4. Request the Police Report

If your child’s injuries are serious enough to call an ambulance, it’s likely the police will also respond. Make clear exactly what caused your child’s injury. Point out any unsafe conditions that caused the injuries and direct the police to any witnesses.

Within a week or two of the incident, you should be able to obtain a copy of the police report online or by mail for a nominal fee.

5. Talk to a Personal Injury Attorney

Most playground injuries happen at schools and parks. Public schools and parks are part of your state and local government, and extremely difficult to sue on your own. There are extremely short deadlines and convoluted rules for filing injury claims against government agencies. If you make any mistakes, the claim will be denied.

You need an attorney to win government injury claims and other complex claims such as defective playground equipment, permanent disability, or wrongful death claims.

Most states require court approval of financial settlements for children younger than 18 years old. The child’s attorney will make sure the at-fault party covers the costs of annuities or trust funds set up for the benefit of the child.

The lawyer may also be able to structure the injury settlement so it won’t impact the child’s eligibility for government services, like CHIP and SSI.

Most personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation to parents of injured children. You need reliable legal advice before signing anything from the at-fault party’s insurance company.

6. Collect Evidence of Damages

Personal injury claims are only valid when there are documented injuries and other damages. Claims based on what could have happened, or out of anger at perceived wrongdoings of a playground property owner or staff, will fail.

You need to gather evidence including:

  • Copies of your child’s medical treatment records and bills
  • Receipts for any out-of-pocket expenses for medications, assistive devices, and bandages
  • The costs for the teacher, books, and supplies if your child is tutored at home during recovery
  • An injury diary with dates and notes of your child’s pain levels, medical appointments, and the effects the accident has had on your child. Include details such as bedwetting, bad dreams, and missed sports or social events.

Medical bills will be the largest factor in calculating compensation for your child, while the diary will help support your child’s pain and suffering claim.

Who Should Pay For My Child’s Injuries?

Depending on the circumstances leading to your child’s injury, there may be more than one party who is liable, meaning financially responsible for your child’s damages.

All these parties owe your child a specific duty of care, meaning they have a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to protect your child from undue harm.

Potentially liable parties include:

  • The manager or owner of the playground
  • The playground equipment manufacturer
  • The person who was supervising your child at the playground
  • The parents of the child who injured your child

Property owners and their management staff have a legal duty of care (obligation) to make the playgrounds and adjacent areas safe for children. This means they must do everything reasonably possible to ensure the safety and well-being of children invited to use the playground, including repairing or eliminating dangerous conditions.

Playground property owners may be school districts, daycare providers, mall and restaurant owners, and any other business entity that offers a playground area for visiting children.

Playground equipment manufacturers are required to meet standard consumer safety specifications. Poor design, defects in construction, or inadequate use and maintenance guides can all lead to serious playground injuries.

School and daycare workers have a unique obligation to protect the children in their care. The Latin phrase in loco parentis means “in place of the parent” and describes the high standard of childcare expected from a teacher or daycare worker.

Parents of the at-fault child can be held responsible for the harm caused by their child. Many states make the parents financially accountable for injuries caused by their children.

In general, the injured child’s family won’t be able to recover compensation for their emotional distress. However, when a child has suffered severe, debilitating, or fatal injuries, the attorney can bring a claim for loss of consortium, meaning the parent’s loss of their child’s help, affection, and company.

Proving a Playground Injury Claim

Sometimes kids get hurt and no one is to blame. Accidents happen. But when one or more parties are to blame for your child’s injury, the burden is on you and your child’s attorney to prove it. You must prove the at-fault party did something wrong or failed to do what a reasonable person would do.

Your playground injury case may be based on negligence, premises liability, product liability, or a combination of liability claims.

For a claim against the property owner you have to show:

  • The owner oversaw the playground
  • The owner could expect children to play there
  • The owner negligently allowed a dangerous condition on the playground
  • The owner knew or should have known of the danger to children
  • The owner’s negligence was the main cause of your child’s injury

For claims against a school playground or daycare center you must show:

  • The person supervising your child owed your child a duty of care
  • The person failed to monitor your child adequately
  • The negligent supervision caused your child’s injuries

For claims against a manufacturer you must show:

  • The manufacturer had a duty to meet playground safety standards
  • The playground equipment was defective
  • The manufacturer knew or should have known the defective equipment was hazardous to children
  • The defective equipment caused your child’s injury

Common Causes of Playground Accidents

Playgrounds are usually wonderful places for children to exercise, burn off excess energy, and make new friends. Yet parents should be on the lookout for the common causes of serious playground accidents and injuries.

The most common playground injuries include:

  • Scrapes and bruises
  • Broken bones, usually arms
  • Concussions and other brain injuries
  • Dislocations
  • Internal injuries

Common causes of playground injuries include:

  • Lack of Supervision: Most playground accidents happen at schools, including daycare centers, and parks while children are under the supervision of a teacher or daycare provider.
  • Trips and Falls: Some of the most serious, sometimes fatal injuries occur from falls onto the playground surface. Children can fall from monkey bars and other elevated climbing equipment, and trip over tree roots, stumps, or rocks.
  • Strangulation: The most commonly fatal playground injuries are caused by strangulation. Children are strangled by a combination of swings, slides, jump ropes, dog leashes, drawstrings on clothing, and more.
  • Child-on-Child Injuries: Some children are overly aggressive. Even at young ages, they can become territorial while on playgrounds, biting, scratching, and pushing another child from high slides or other equipment.
  • Poor Maintenance: Municipalities and private entities must maintain playgrounds on their property. Playground equipment can rust, rot, and splinter over time. Guardrails can be broken or loose.
  • Faulty Equipment: Children may be injured by faulty playground equipment due to poor design, manufacturing flaws, or lack of maintenance information provided by the manufacturer.
  • Unsafe Playground Surface: Playgrounds should have soft material under all equipment, such as sand, rubber, woodchips, or mulch. The material should be distributed evenly and deep enough to cushion a child’s fall.

Playground Injury Claim and Lawsuit Questions