Chicago Child Injury Lawyer - Article

Dangerous Playground Equipment

Toy companies have made great improvements over the years as they work to develop safe and fun playground equipment for children. Unfortunately, this does not mean that every play area has become a good place for kids. Some parks and gardens contain outdated equipment that may even be falling apart, adding to the original danger of the design. Additionally, brand new equipment can have design flaws or manufacturing defects that pose a risk to children.

Spotting a Safe Playground

If you are looking for a good park for your children, investigate local areas with the following in mind:

Avoid wooden play structures. Since equipment is generally made with plastic these days, wooden structures are probably old and may fall through. They also pose the risk of splinters and cuts from jagged parts.

Make sure that all platforms and other elevated areas have safety bars or guardrails. In addition, no platform should be higher than 12 feet off the ground. Even if the ground is covered with a soft material such as wood chips, a fall from that height is very dangerous.

Metal can become extremely hot on sunny days, so equipment built from other materials such as plastic is ideal. If any equipment does contain metal parts, make sure it is properly maintained and free of rust.

Keep an eye out for equipment that has been deemed dangerous. This includes swinging ropes, monkey bars, swings designed for more than one child at a time, and trampolines.

Contact a Chicago Child Injury Lawyer

If your child has been injured by poorly built or maintained playground equipment, contact Chicago child injury lawyers Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200.