There are indoor and outdoor playgrounds throughout Michigan, which provide entertainment and exercise for kids of all ages. Every parent can expect that proper maintenance and precautions exist to create a safe environment for children to play. Sadly, however, at least 17 child fatalities occur every year on playgrounds.
If you are a parent who has experienced the unfathomable grief of losing a child or witnessing your child’s suffering because of a severe playground injury, your grief may intensify if you later learn that the accident was preventable. When a property owner does not prioritize safety and a child suffers injuries, the owner may be liable. This is true whether your child was playing at school, in a public park, at an indoor playground or in a friend’s backyard.
10 out of 100 playground injuries require follow-up care
If your child stumbles and falls on a playground, resulting in a scraped elbow or knee, you might not be overly concerned about the incident. It happens. However, many children suffer severe injuries on playgrounds where equipment was defective, or property managers did not properly maintain the grounds. Such injuries often require surgery as well as follow-up medical care, such as physical therapy.
When a child has suffered a serious injury, such as brain trauma, he or she may need medical support for the rest of his or her life. If a spinal cord injury has occurred, your child might need a wheelchair. There is no reason you should face the added stress of expenses that accompanies such care if the property owner fails in his or her duty to provide a safe environment on the playground.
Determining whether you have grounds for filing a personal injury claim
A Michigan court can hold a property owner liable for injuries when a child has suffered in a playground accident when evidence shows that the property owner’s negligence was a causal factor in the incident. As a plaintiff in a personal injury claim, you must prove several elements, including duty of care, negligence and damages. This means that you must convince the court that your child may not have suffered injury if the defendant had not failed in his or her duty to provide and maintain a safe environment.
Since your child is a minor, Michigan law allows you to file a claim on his or her behalf. This is because, if your child were an adult, he or she would be eligible to file a claim. A personal injury lawsuit can be complex and stressful. However, there are support resources available for parents who are considering seeking liability against a property owner following a playground injury.