Premises Liability in Playground Accidents

Premises liability law applies to playgrounds, regardless of whether owned privately or by a local or federal government or another public entity. Playground accidents are not uncommon, but are covered under typical premise liability laws.

Playground Accident Liability

The owner or operator of a playground is liable for injury occurring on the playground to any child or adult on the property if the owner or operator fails to keep the playground safe. Since playgrounds often inherently pose at least some risk to children, premise liability usually does not extend to include basic playground accident, meaning falls and scraped knees. Injuries that result from unsafe or improperly maintained equipment, however, will fall within the purview of owner or operator liability.

Exceptions to Liability

An owner or operator may not be found liable for injury occurring on a playground if he can show evidence of proper maintenance and that the child or adult was using the equipment in an extremely reckless or negligent manner. An adult, for example, that tries to swing from monkey bars might be prevented from claiming liability after the bars collapse and he falls because the bars were not designed to hold a person of his weight.

Similarly, an owner or operator who locks the playground at night or does not prevent any unsupervised playground use may be able to avoid some or all liability for injury occurring when the property was technically not open for use.

Potential Acceptance of the Risk

Acceptance of the risk is a legal doctrine stating that an injured party may or may not have accepted the risk of his injury by participating in an activity. Using a playground is a perfect example of this doctrine. When using a playground, adults and even children have a basic understanding that injury could occur. Because of this, courts may find that the owner or operator is not liable for injury, because the injured party knew or should have known injury could occur on the playground and chose to engage in the activity nonetheless. 

Obtaining Legal Advice

If you are involved in a premise liability lawsuit resulting from a playground injury, seek legal assistance with your defense or claim. An attorney will be able to identify whether the owner or operator failed to maintain the playground properly and if you assumed the risk of injury in your use of the playground.