Child Injured from School Equipment - Personal Injury Lawyers?

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Liz D

Member
9 April 2014
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1
1
My 6 year old slipped and fell when he was playing on the school play equipment during his lunch break. The doctor has confirmed that he's fractured some of the bones in his leg close to the joint where the growth plates are. He may have stunted bone growth in the future. I've taken photos of the play equipment (taken on the day of the incident) and I think there was a lack of shock absorbing material on the playground where my son was injured. Can any personal injury lawyers give me some guidance?
 
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Edward B

Member
9 April 2014
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Speak to a personal injury lawyer straight away. Its good that you took photos, but a personal injury lawyer will likely organise an expert who can inspect the playground and assess whether it complies with the relevant safety standards.

You'll also likely need the doctor and the relevant specialists to provide a prediction for your son's future medical needs. This will go to the amount of compensation that your son may be entitled to. Remember you'll be looking at compensation for your son's pain and suffering as well as past and future medical treatment. Make sure you keep all medial records and receipts and keep notes/a journal of which medical people you have spoken to and what you spoke about with times/dates, etc.
 
S

Sophea

Guest
With any injury case, you need to be careful. Many people think that just because they injure themselves somewhere, then whoever is involved in maintaining the area or structure should be liable. But this is not the case. Lets face it, we all have accidents sometimes, especially children and that's a fact of life.

In order to prove that the is liable, you need to prove that they did something that was negligent. In this case, you are going to need to prove that either: the material they chose to lay for the surface of the playground was unfit or inappropriate, or that they failed to maintain it in a way that caused it to be come unreasonably slippery. What the court will look at here, is the reasonableness of of school's actions. Generally schools have policies and procedures in place to ensure that they act reasonably and that they avoid liability of this type.

As Edward B said, lawyers will be able to tell you whether or not you have a case, once they see your evidence or once they have had an expert evaluate the playground surface.