West Palm Beach, FL – Murray Guari Trial Attorneys, a personal injury, and defect product law firm in West Palm Beach, is proud to support the National Program for Playground Safety’s (NPPS) National Playground Safety Week – April 23-27, 2012.
The National Playground Safety Institute says every year more than 200,000 children are treated in emergency departments because of injuries that took place on playgrounds. Many of these injuries are due to a lack of adequate supervision or negligent supervision, poorly maintained equipment or poorly designed and defective playgrounds and equipment. A U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report shows that 40 kids were killed on playgrounds as a result of hangings, asphyxiations, head or neck injuries between 2001-2008.
Our law firm represented a young boy who suffered a serious closed head injury when his head struck a concrete curb that ran down the middle of his daycare playground. Instead of designing an appropriate playground space, the daycare constructed the playground over a pre-existing parking lot including a dangerous concrete curb. In this case, the placement of the unreasonably dangerous tripping hazard in the middle of the playground violates several building codes and playground safety guidelines.
Playground injuries and accidents are preventable. While playground laws and regulations vary by state, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Society for Testing and Materials have developed Playground equipment guidelines and standards. In Florida, Florida’s Child Care Standards (F.A.C. 65C-22.003) does include playground safety in the list of potential courses required to be taken by childcare providers.
Here are the National Recreation and Park Association top twelve leading playground hazards that parents, caregivers, teachers, daycare workers, etc. need to be aware of and should inspect for:
- Improper Surfacing
- Inadequate Use Zone
- Protrusion & Entanglement Hazards
- Entrapment Openings
- Insufficient Equipment Spacing
- Trip Hazards
- Lack of Supervision
- Age-Inappropriate Activities
- Lack of Maintenance
- Crush, Sheering and Sharp Edge Hazards
- Platforms with No Guardrails
- Equipment Not Recommend for Public Playgrounds
The National Program for Playground Safety created S.A.F.E. to help communities across the nation examine the critical issues surrounding playground safety and playground equipment use. There are four contributing factors to properly maintain a safe playground atmosphere.
- Provide proper supervision of children on playgrounds and survey the area for any hazards..
- Design age-appropriate playgrounds.
- Provide proper fall surfacing under and around playgrounds.
- Properly maintain playground equipment.
The law office of Murray Guari reminds you to take the necessary steps to make protect your child and to make sure you playground is safe. Supervision and surveying are instrumental in keeping our children injury free. If you do find an issue with your child’s playground, immediately contact the park’s owner which could be the community, city, state, school or daycare and alert them of any hazards. If you would like additional resources regarding playground safety, visit our website at www.murrayguari.com or contact us at 561-366-9099.
The National Program from Playground Safety’s (NPPS) mission is to help the public create safe and developmentally appropriate play environments for children. Since 1995, NPPS has been the leader in research, training, and development of S.A.F.E. play areas in the nation. To learn more about NPPS visits: http://playgroundsafety.org.
The personal injury law firm of Murray Guari Trial Attorneys PL was founded in 2005. The firm is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, at 1525 N. Flagler Drive, Suite 100. The attorneys can be contacted at (561) 366-9099. Additional information about Murray Guari Trial Attorneys PL may be obtained from the firm’s website at www.murrayguari.com.
Contact
Jason Guari, Murray Guari Trial Attorneys PL
(561) 366-9099
jguari@murrayguari.com
Kim Sailer, BARD Marketing/PR
ksailer@bardmarketing.com
