Playground Accidents

New York Playground Accident Attorneys

Protecting the Rights of Your Child

Being informed that your child suffered a serious injury is a nightmare for every parent, especially when the injury is serious and debilitating. Unfortunately, child injuries are a common occurrence. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that in one year alone more than 600,000 children suffered serious injuries while using playground equipment. In fact, more than 200,000 children who are 14 years of age and younger require emergency medical treatment each year after suffering an injury in a preventable accident and 70% of those accidents occurred while at a playground.

If your child has been injured in a New York playground, you may have legal options to pursue compensation for your losses and damages caused by the unsafe playground or equipment there. An experienced New York playground accident lawyer from Dansker & Aspromonte Associates LLP can help with an abundance of knowledge about New York playground safety rules and regulations. Leave everything up to us while you focus on taking care of your family.

For a free legal consultation with an NYC playground accident lawyer, call (646) 692-0204 now.

Premises Liability and Who is to Blame

Premises liability is a legal doctrine that makes the owner of a property responsible for any accidents or injuries that may occur as a result of their negligence. If there’s evidence that the owner of a playground failed to make reasonable efforts to ensure the safety of their premises, they could be held liable for any injuries that occur.

Generally speaking, a playground owner must take certain measures to ensure safety. This includes:

  • Regularly inspecting and maintaining equipment
  • Providing adequate supervision
  • Fixing hazardous areas
  • Repairing broken pieces of equipment in a timely manner.

If a playground’s owner fails to meet these standards, they could be found negligent in a court of law. In some cases, other parties may also be held liable for a playground injury.

Liable Parties for Playground Accidents

When a child is injured on a playground, people are sometimes too quick to blame the child or parent. Children can be reckless, but that doesn’t mean that they are always to blame when they get hurt. As one of our roles as your chosen New York playground accident attorneys, we will investigate the circumstances of your child’s playground injury to determine where fault and liability might lie.

Likely defendants in a playground accident claim could include:

  • Parks department: If your child was hurt in a public New York park, then the parks department or the city itself could be liable. Cases filed against a public entity have brief statutes of limitations, so dial (646) 692-0204 without delay.
  • School: An accident at a playground in a schoolyard will likely make that school or its parent school district liable for the accident. Lawsuits against schools are also held to brief statutes of limitations in many cases.
  • Product maker: When a playground accident involves a specific piece of defective equipment, like an unsafe seesaw or jungle gym, the manufacturer of that product could be partially or wholly liable for the accident and resulting injuries.

Sovereign Immunity

When it comes to filing a lawsuit against a public school system or a municipality, it is important to keep in mind that most states provide some sort of “sovereign immunity” protection. This means that you may be limited in the types of damages you can seek from a government entity. It is also a good idea to consult with an attorney before filing a lawsuit against a school system or municipality, as these cases can be complex and require a special set of rules.

Three Steps to Take After a Playground Accident

If your child was injured in an accident at a New York playground, there are some important steps you can take to improve the likelihood of success in any lawsuit possible against the playground owner or equipment manufacturer.

After a playground accident, try to follow these steps:

  1. Make sure your child receives immediate medical attention: There is no doubt that the health and long-term well-being of your child is paramount. That is why it is critically important to take your child to the hospital right away after the accident. Depending on the severity of the accident, you should consider calling an ambulance. Make sure to retain copies of any medical bills and diagnostic records you receive after the accident concerning your child’s injuries and treatment plan.
  2. Take steps to collect information and evidence: If your child was injured using a piece of playground equipment, you should take photographs of the playground and the piece of equipment that caused the accident. This will help our lawyers assess if the equipment was defective and should have been addressed before the accident. If other people at the playground saw the accident, try to get their names and cell phone numbers, which can be helpful if they can act as witnesses later.
  3. Contact an experienced New York playground injury lawyer right away: Taking swift legal action is extremely important if your child was seriously injured while on a playground. In many instances, playgrounds are owned by the city, the school, or another government entity. If that is the case, New York law requires that a notice of your personal injury claim be filed within 90 days of the accident. If notice is not provided within this strict time frame, it can jeopardize the viability of your case.

For more information, please call (646) 692-0204 or complete a free case evaluation form.

Focused on Your Recovery

    • Brain Damaged Child $50 Million

      A four-year-old boy was brought to the hospital for a routine eyelid repair. To cut costs, the hospital contracted out its anesthesia services to a third-party corporation.

    • Wrongful Death $21.5 Million

      This accident occurred in the Bronx when our client was working on a sanitation truck. The driver lost control while making a turn. Our client was ejected and the truck ran over his leg.

    • Pedestrian Injury $10.3 Million

      A 22-year-old theater intern was walking across the intersection of 42nd Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan when she was struck by the rear door of a passing truck which had flown open because it had been improperly secured by the driver.

Handle Your Case With Confidence

Contact Dansker & Aspromonte

We serve clients throughout the New York City Metropolitan area, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Contact us for help today.

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