Liability for an injury to a child on a playground depends a great deal on the specific circumstances of an accident. With that in mind, you should consult an experienced Chicago child injury lawyer to look at your case and advise you on how to move forward. In general, however, there are a few common parties that may be held liable for an injury on playground equipment depending on how, exactly, the injury occurred.
Negligence is the key to establishing liability in just about any civil law suit, and instances of child injury on playground equipment are no different. To demonstrate negligence, you typically need to show that a person or company acted in a way that is unreasonable or failed to act in a way that a reasonable person would have to prevent injury. That can be difficult, especially without a lawyer to represent you.
If a child is injured while under the care or supervision of another person, then that individual may be liable for the injury. This will depend a great deal upon the details of the situation, and how that person acted at the time. For example, if a trusted guardian was supervising a child and used drugs or alcohol, which created the situation in which the child was injured, then that would likely demonstrate negligence on their part. Such action would make them liable for the injuries sustained.
The owner of a park or other location where the injury occurs might be liable. A situation in which this could happen would be a playground in Chicago where ice is present. If the owner of the playground is notified of the ice, and does nothing to warn others or eliminate the hazard, and a child slips and injures themselves on that ice, then the owner may be liable. The negligence demonstrated by knowing of a hazard and doing nothing to eliminate it may create a situation for a civil lawsuit.
Playground equipment itself can cause an injury, at which point the manufacturer might be liable. This type of liability is very difficult to prove, since you have to demonstrate that the equipment caused the injury due to negligence on the part of the manufacturer. A swing breaking and causing a child to fall out is not sufficient cause for liability. If the manufacturer knew the chains were prone to breaking, but did nothing to prevent it, however, then it might be liable due to that negligence. An examination of the ground material should also be undertaken. This material is there for a reason; which is to lessen the chance of injury during a fall. Sometimes this material is wood chips while other times it is rubber or other hard materials.
If you or someone you know has had a child injured due to playground equipment and negligence, then let Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC help. Call us today at (312) 243-9922 to discuss the details of your case and consider the options available to you.
