Spring is just around the corner, and that means kids will soon be spending more time outside playing on school playgrounds. However, this also means our kids will be at an increased risk for playground injuries. Luckily, most playground injuries are not too serious. Still, any injury caused by unsafe equipment or lack of supervision should have been completely preventable.

Schools and property owners are legally obligated to maintain the safety of play areas for children, and failure to do so may even be a violation of local codes or regulations. When a child suffers an injury at school, daycare, in a park, or anywhere else with a play area meant for children, the school or property owner could be liable for negligent maintenance and/or negligent supervision.

For instance, if a sharp edge is protruding from a piece of playground equipment and your son or daughter accidentally bumps into it and sustains a cut, whomever is in charge of the playground should have known this type of injury was possible and thus had a duty to take steps to prevent it, perhaps by covering the sharp edge with protective padding, for example. The negligent failure to do so could mean you and your child are entitled to significant compensation for damages. In a case of improper or insufficient supervision, the existence of a defect on the playground will not even be necessary, as negligence can be established based solely on factors such as the ages of the children playing, the nature of the injury, and the ratio of the number of teachers or supervisors present to the number of children at play. A common example is when an injury occurs because kids are playing too rough while unsupervised.

If your child is injured this spring (or any other time) while playing on a playground, please do not hesitate to call the Personal Injury Hotline at 1-800-234-5529 for a free consultation to assess your legal rights right away.