As a parent, you want your children to be safe, and you expect them to be when you send them to school or daycare. However, if you have received a phone call informing you that your child was injured on a playground, you might be confused about your legal rights and options. An experienced San Antonio injury attorney from George Salinas Injury Lawyers can help explain your legal rights and options for pursuing financial compensation for your child’s injuries.
Common Playground Injuries We See in San Antonio
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a significant portion of playground injuries occur on climbing features. Children may fall off these apparatuses, leading to broken bones and other serious injuries. Children can also be injured on slides if they fall off, the slide is too hot, or if they are pushing each other. Monkey bars are another common cause of injuries.
This playground equipment can lead to various injuries, including:
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Facial injuries
- Back injuries
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Sprains and strains
Common Causes of Playground Injuries
Various factors can contribute to playground injuries, including:
- Roughhousing: Children may fight or play roughly, which can lead to accidents and serious injuries.
- Lack of supervision: Daycare providers, teachers, and other staff are responsible for carefully monitoring the children in their care. When they fail to pay proper attention, children can suffer serious injuries.
- Slippery surfaces: Children may slip and slide on wet or slippery playground equipment.
- Hot surfaces: Children can suffer serious burns when playground equipment is hot.
- Defective playground equipment: Children can be injured due to defective climbing structures, slides, monkey bars, or other dangerous playground equipment.
- Poor maintenance: Playground equipment requires regular inspection and maintenance. When it’s not, children may suffer severe injuries.
Who Is Responsible for Playground Injuries in Texas?
Various parties could be responsible for playground injuries, depending on the circumstances. The owner of the playground could be responsible. This could be a governmental agency if the accident occurs at school or at a public park. It could be a private party, such as if a daycare owns it. Property owners can be held liable for injuries caused by a dangerous condition on the playground.
If other children caused the injury, such as if a fight occurred on the playground, their parents may be legally responsible.
If the playground equipment was defective, the equipment’s manufacturer or designer could be held liable for the injuries, based on product liability principles. An experienced San Antonio child injury attorney can investigate your case and determine who may be responsible.
Legal Complexities in School Injury Cases
If the playground accident occurred on public school grounds, the school could be immune to civil liability, based on sovereign immunity principles. However, the Texas Tort Claims Act imposes liability on governmental agencies when public employees act negligently while performing their job duties. They can also be held liable if a dangerous condition on the property harms someone, if the government had actual knowledge of the condition and failed to take reasonable action to remedy it.
In cases involving public schools and other public property, you must give the relevant governmental agency adequate notice within six months of the injury.
Contact Our Playground Injury Lawyers for Help
If your child was injured on a school playground, seek medical care for them immediately. Then, contact George Salinas Injury Lawyers for a free consultation with our slip and fall accident lawyer in San Antonio at 210-225-0909 to learn more about your legal rights.