Defective Playgrounds

A playground is supposed to be a safe, fun place for children to enjoy themselves. But things can go horribly wrong when swing sets, merry-go-rounds, slides and other recreational products are defective due to poor manufacture, insufficient maintenance or inadequate safety provisions. Suddenly a relaxing day out with your family turns to a painful and possibly tragic trip to the hospital.

Each year, over 200,000 children require emergency medical care due to injuries received on playgrounds. More than two-thirds of these injuries occur on public playgrounds. Injuries can range from cuts and bruises to broken bones or head injuries, some requiring hospitalization.

• Lack of proper maintenance, leading to shorts and electrical faults
• Insufficient training for employees expected to work around electric current
• Insufficient supervision
• A generally hazardous workplace environment

In the case of electrocution, it’s very important to seek medical attention immediately. While some electrocution injuries, such as burns, are easily apparent, others — often the more serious injuries such as brain injury or neural impairment — are not. Skilled medical treatment can assess these injuries more quickly, improving the chances of recovery. In addition, skilled injury assessment can be very important if your injuries are due to negligence.

After an electrical injury, immediate treatment includes:

• Call for professional medical assistance
• Turn off the source of the electricity or remove the injured person from the current with a non-conductive tool such as a wooden broom handle
• Do not touch the injured person directly until the electricity has been cut off, as you could also be electrocuted through this contact
• Check for heartbeat and respiration—but again, do NOT touch the person directly until the electrical current has been turned off
• Administer CPR if necessary

If you or a loved one has been injured by electrical current, and you believe the injury was due to negligence, it is your legal right to hold the business or home owners accountable for your injury and related medical expenses. Your claim could be related to an unsafe environment, or to negligence in attending to injuries or contacting professional medical care immediately after the accident occurred.

The legal team at Duncan Firm, P.A. has litigated numerous personal injury and premises liability cases, including work place injuries and traumatic brain injuries, with professionalism and compassion. If you have been the victim of this kind of accident, please find out what the Duncan law team can do to help you.