Each year in the United States, Emergency Departments treat more than 230,000 children ages 14 and younger with playground-related injuries. Almost 45% of these playground injuries are severe fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations and amputations. Many of them are related to playground equipment and most occur at schools and daycare centers. Between 1990 and 2000 147,000 children ages 14 and younger died from playground-related injury. http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Playground-Injuries/playgroundinjuries-factsheet.htm
On the playground, children grow and develop skills but unfortunately they can also become severely injured. Approximately 15 children will die each year from injuries sustained on the playground. Half of these are from strangulation and most of the rest are from falls from equipment. There are several things that parents and others can do to prevent children from being injured on the playground. However, inadequate adult supervision is the most likely reason that children, particularly under the age of five suffer injuries at the playground. http://safety.more4kids.info/178/playground-injuries/
Of the injuries sustained by children playing, about 76% are on public playgrounds while the balance occurred on home equipment. [For a home playground safety checklist, see http://www.intellicorpintouch.com/playground-safety/home-playground-safety-checklist.aspx] Of the 200,000 plus children suffering playground injuries each year, 15% of these injuries are classified as very severe, with the most common type of injury being a fracture. Interestingly, girls are slightly more likely to be injured than boys. The National Program for Playground Safety has graded each State on the basis of its safety for playground activities with a national average grade of C+. http://www.rwjf.org/files/newsroom/webcasts/PlaygroundInjuryStatistics.pdf
Youthful development takes place on the playground, and therefore it is important that we provide the best possible play environment to foster safe and healthy development for child-physically, socially, intellectually, and emotionally. It all starts for us with the playground, and that experience later shapes our society. The International Playground Safety Institute is a resource for those interested in playground 
safety as safety inspectors and supervisors of the playground. www.internationalplaygroundsafetyinstitute.com/playground.cfm
A number of States pursuant to a National Playground Safety Institute program have created safety inspector certification courses and exams. It has been suggested that administrators and supervisory personnel from the Public Works Department attend either the camps or apply for a training program. These programs cover the injury statistics, hazard identification, playground inspection requirements and safety management. http://www.kyrec.org/playground/NPSI09reg.pdf
When a child is injured or killed on the playground there are many parties that may be responsible including equipment designers, installers of the equipment, entities responsible for maintaining equipment, and individuals responsible in supervising children who play. Many deaths and injuries can be prevented if playgrounds are designed with safety in mind. There is no question that supervisors must provide the highest duty of care to prevent unreasonable risk of injury on the playground. If the playground equipment is properly installed with adequate space to prevent overcrowding and ensure play (with proper inspection of the equipment and supervision of the children, lawsuits can be avoided).
Injuries that result from unsafe playgrounds fall in the area of premises liability. Property owners and supervisors have a duty to provide a safe environment for the children on their property. If they fail to do so and someone is injured as a result they may be held liable for the injured party’s personal damages and loses. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious playground injury it is important that you contact a personal injury attorney so they can determine who may be responsible and conduct a prompt investigation. If you are seeking an experienced attorney in Indiana you may contact William “Bill” Hurst for a free consultation.