Study: Playground Traumatic Brain Injuries On the Rise

by John Gomez | Last Updated: May 2, 2016

Researchers from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control recently completed a study that revealed that the number of traumatic brain injuries suffered by children at playgrounds has risen sharply in recent years.

The study could lead to several different reactions by those who manage private playgrounds, public playgrounds and school playgrounds. This rise in traumatic brain injuries in children has also likely led to calls to children’s rights lawyers around the country who are being sought out for legal advice and analyses of incidents.

The Study: A Statistical Review

The researchers completed the study by reviewing statistics that are kept by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–All Injury Program. The data was tracked between the years of 2001 and 2013. A link to the abstract of the study can be found here. Lawyers, neurosurgeons, public officials and concerned parents are all reacting strongly to the data that has been uncovered relating to traumatic brain injuries in children.

The study found the following:

Between 2001 and 2013, more than 21,000 people aged 14 and under per year were treated in hospitals for traumatic brain injuries that occurred on playgrounds.
39.7 per 100,000 boys of this young age visited emergency rooms during this time frame.
53.5 boys per 100,000 between the ages of 5 and 9 needed emergency care for traumatic brain injuries.
95.6% of those who visited emergency rooms were treated and released.
That means that more than 12,000 children suffered traumatic brain injuries that required some form of hospital stay during those 12 years.
Approximately one-third of all traumatic brain injuries occurred at places of recreation or sports.
Slightly less than one-third occurred at schools.
Monkey bars and swings accounted for more than half of all of the traumatic brain injuries suffered.

Perhaps most importantly, the researchers concluded that “annual rate of TBI ED visits increased significantly from 2005 to 2013.”

Playground Traumatic Brain Injuries and Potential Liability

More and more research has been released in recent years relating to the harm and potential harm done by traumatic brain injuries, even those that are seemingly minor in nature. As such, parents of children who are injured in this manner need to, first and foremost, seek the help of children’s rights lawyers who can review their specific situations and help them understand which party or parties could or should be held responsible for the harm that was inflicted.

Generally speaking, there are a few legal theories of liability that may be more likely to be present than others in any given traumatic brain injury situation. These include:

Negligent supervision – Those charged with managing playgrounds have a duty to properly supervise them while they are in operation.
Negligently maintained equipment – All playground equipment needs to be properly maintained so that it’s reasonably safe. If it’s not those who are supposed to perform this maintenance could be liable for damages.
Defective design or construction of equipment – If the equipment is simply not safe to use either because it is not designed or built properly, that needs to be explored as a potential theory of liability as well.

Playground Traumatic Brain Injury – Contact Experienced Children’s Rights Lawyers

Overall, it can be difficult for anyone whose child has suffered a traumatic brain injury on a playground to understand what needs to be done in order to hold those responsible for this type of harm properly accountable.

If you find yourself in this situation, contact the children’s injury lawyers at the Gomez Trial Attorneys today to schedule a free initial consultation.

John Gomez

John Gomez founded the firm alone in 2005. Today, John acts as President and Lead Trial Attorney. He has been voted by his peers as a top ten San Diego litigator in three separate fields: Personal Injury, Insurance and Corporate Litigation. Since 2000, he has recovered over $800 million in settlements and verdicts for his clients with more than 160 separate recoveries of one million dollars or more. A prolific trial lawyer, John has tried to jury verdict more than 60 separate cases.

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