More than 200,000 kids are injured in playground accidents in the United States every year.
While many accidents can be attributed to “kids being kids,” others are preventable. Common causes of playground accidents include defective playground equipment, poorly designed play areas, and improper maintenance. All of these unsafe conditions increase the risk of injury, including falls, fractures, entrapments, concussions, lacerations, and strangulations.
Before you let your child run off to play, we recommend using the U.S. Consumer Product Safety’s checklist to verify the playground’s safety:
- Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
- Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
- Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart. Check for dangerous hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends.
- Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
- Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
- Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks. Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
- Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition.
- Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they're safe.
The Dellutri Law Group is focused on making bad situations better and putting lives back together. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Cape Coral accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. To learn more about your legal options, contact our experienced Cape Coral injury attorneys for a free consultation.
