What to Do if Your Child is Injured in a Playground Accident

Playgrounds are supposed to be fun, but unsafe or improperly maintained equipment can pose unnecessary risks to kids at play. What should you do if your child is seriously injured in a playground accident? Do you have any legal recourse if the playground is in a public park? New York/New Jersey personal injury attorney, Peter Briskin says that if your child is injured on a public playground, contacting an attorney promptly is absolutely critical to the success of your case.

“Your attorney will know which questions to ask in order to help you take the appropriate course of action,” he says. First, says Briskin, you need to determine whether the playground is in fact on public property (rather than on the grounds of a private school, for example). The reason for this is that pursuing a personal injury claim against a governmental body is much different than pursuing a claim against a private entity.

Briskin says that if your personal injury case involves federal, state or local government, you’ll need to follow special timelines and rules. Accidents in public parks are examples of such cases, as are accidents involving emergency vehicles, public hospitals, schools and public transportation systems.

Notice of Claim

When any kind of accident occurs on public property, the victim is required to file a Notice of Claim with the governmental entity responsible for that property.  A Notice of Claim is a legal document that outlines the details of the accident and informs the city that you intend to file a personal injury claim. In the case of a playground injury, you’ll probably need to file a Notice of Claim with the city.

“If you fail to file your Notice of Claim properly,” says Briskin, “your case is dead in the water.” In New York and New Jersey, where Briskin practices, your Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of an accident. In other jurisdictions, the time limit may be different, but you usually don’t have long to file, he says.

“Even if you’re not sure whether you intend to file suit, you should definitely consult an attorney and file a Notice of Claim,” Briskin advises. “You can always decide later not to move forward. If you don’t file a Notice of Claim, however, you won’t have that choice.”

Statue of Limitations 

In every state, there is a statute of limitations (time limit) for filing a personal injury suit. In New York, says Briskin, the time limit is three years. In New Jersey, it’s two years. However, Briskin explains, there is a special statute of limitations for suits against governmental bodies. In New York, legal action against the state must be filed within two years. Against other governmental bodies in New York, suit must be filed within one year and 90 days. There are some exceptions, though. In cases involving children, the statute of limitations may be extended. If your child is seriously injured in a playground accident, you’ll want to talk to an attorney to determine how long you have to file suit.

Investigation 

When you contact an attorney about your child’s playground injury, the attorney will launch an investigation into the details of the accident. The purpose of the investigation is to gather evidence to be used during litigation. This evidence is needed to show the court a) the extent and impacts of your child’s injuries, and b) that your child’s injuries were incurred as the result of a preventable accident for which the city should be held liable.

“There is a lot of information to gather,” says Briskin. “You’ll need to have the doctor who’s treating your child write a special report, have an engineer or other specialist inspect the site of the accident, request information from the city and much more. When you’re working with an attorney, the attorney handles all of that for you so you can focus on your child’s recovery.”