NYC Forced to Pay Nearly $20M In Settlements To Victims Injured on Playgrounds In Disrepair

When you take your child out to a playground, you have their best interest at heart. You intention is to enjoy a sunny day, an outing with your family, or provide your child with some great exercise. However, some playgrounds do not provide a facet for your sentiments. If the playground is not properly maintained and in safe condition, you may find that these play areas are unintentionally hot beds of danger for your children. Unfortunately, these hotbeds can be found in too many NYC playgrounds.

Examples of the 566 Settlements of City Playground-Related Claims

In 2013, 6-year-old Eridania Martinez was awarded $750,000 after having her right middle finger sheared off while sliding down a poorly maintained slide in Howard Playground in East New York. This was the largest playground-related settlement doled by the Parks Department in the past five years. This payout was one of 566 settlements of city playground-related personal injury claims. Similar to the other claims, the city was aware that they had a problem with this particular slide that injured Eridania, as evidenced by the multiple repairs and the failure to use the right pieces in an attempt to repair.

Although the Parks Department claims that safety is their priority in the approximately 1,000 playgrounds it maintains, it didn’t appear to be the case in the August 2006 incident in which 8-year-old William Pleasant fractured his left elbow after falling from the monkey bars and landing on worn out padding at Lindower Park in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. Internal Parks Department records revealed that the spot had been flagged as being in need of repair a few weeks before this incident. Yet, nothing was done to remedy the disrepair.

Legal Help for Children Injured on Playgrounds

Negligence resulting in play structures can come in many forms, and fingers can easily and legitimately point to poor maintenance of equipment. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), each year more than 200,000 children are injured in playground accidents due to poor maintenance of the facilities. The report further cited that children ages 5 to 9 were most likely to visit the emergency room resulting from playground injuries.

If you suspect that your child was seriously injured as a result of the poor maintenance of one of New York’s playgrounds, you should immediately seek expert legal advice before you proceed with any actions. Although you may want to take matters into your own hands, properly reporting the conditions and incident and obtaining the full compensation that your child deserves may best be handled by an experienced personal injury attorney.

Call a New York Playground Accident Attorney Today

If you or a loved one has been injured in a playground accident that was poorly maintained by city or state officials, you might be entitled to monetary compensation. For more information or to consult with one of our experienced New York personal injury attorneys, please call Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. at 1-800-529-9997.