"Tort Reform" Threatens Playground Safety

A paper by the Center for Justice and Democracy concludes that "Lawsuits serve a crucial purpose by ensuring that guidelines are followed and equipment is well-made and well-maintained."

Amy Widman writes:

"A six-year-old girl severed her finger when she went to slide down a
slide on the school playground. It turns out that there was an opening
with a loose support and the girl’s hand was caught as her body slid
down the slide. Her parents sued the school district on her behalf and
won.

A six-year-old boy injured himself when he fell off a ramp intended
for use by older children, even though younger children had been
instructed not to use it. The injured child had successfully used the
ramp twice before falling on his third attempt. A jury found that the
ramp and its use constituted a dangerous piece of equipment and
awarded the family damages.

A nine-year-old fell from a swing when the overhead fasteners came
loose and the swing gave way. The court awarded damages to the
family, stating that ordinary inspection would have revealed the
impending danger.

Another nine-year-old fell from the ladder of a 14 foot high slide at
school, while climbing up for the purpose of sliding down. The jury
found that the school was negligent in allowing such a dangerous
piece of playground equipment to be used by children.

Litigation explosion? Well, no. These cases all took place before 1946 and, even more troubling, similar cases today might not fare so well for victims, due in part to the efforts of organizations dedicated to wiping out such lawsuits. Recently, some corporate-funded 'tort reform' groups have seized on children’s playgrounds as a new area to exploit to further their 'tort reform' agenda." Read more.