Is Your Child’s Playground Safe?

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200,000 children go to emergency rooms each year in the United States due to injuries associated with the child’s playground equipment. Most of the injuries are due to falling and can result in traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other broken bones.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has provided the following Safety Checklist for parents to use to help make sure their children are safe.

1.  Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or are mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
2.  Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
3.  Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart.
4.  Check for dangerous hardware, like open “S” hooks or protruding bolt ends.
5.  Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
6.  Check for sharp points or edges in equipment.
7.  Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, and rocks.
8.  Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
9.  Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition.
10. Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they’re safe.

If you see any of these issues at a local park or your child’s school, these conditions should be reported to the appropriate authority so the hazardous condition may be corrected.

If your child has been injured on a playground due to one of these conditions or other conditions, contact Goodin Abernathy, LLP to discuss your options.

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Jet Ski Safety and Avoiding Personal Injury

Spring Break and Summer will soon be here, which means Jet Ski or Personal Watercraft use will occur. While jet skiing can be fun, the mishandling of these watercraft can lead to serious personal injury including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or even wrongful death.

Jet Ski Safety

The American Red Cross has published various water safety tips, including specific safety tips for Jet Ski use. These tips include learning to swim, knowing the local laws and regulations, operating the Jet Ski with common sense and courtesy, using caution around swimmers, wearing a life vest, riding with a buddy, and refraining from alcohol use during operation.

Along with these tips, it is also important to know how a Jet Ski operates. It is important for a user of a Jet Ski to be trained by an experienced and knowledgeable operator because personal water craft are powerful and therefore, can be dangerous. Jet Skis, similar to other boats, do not stop like a car. Every year there is a tragic story about a person being catastrophically injured or killed due to a jet ski being unable to stop before running into a pier, dock, or other boat.

In Indiana, there also is no requirement to have specific training on a personal water craft unless you are under 15 years of age.  Any person with a valid driver’s license may operate boats and personal water craft.

Jet Skis and other personal water craft use is fun; however, caution should be used to prevent personal injury. If you or a loved one has been injured through the use of a personal watercraft, jet ski, or other boat, contact the Personal Injury Attorneys of Goodin Abernathy, LLP for a free consultation.