Visiting entertainment parks, public parks and playgrounds is a fun and challenging experience for parents, and especially for children.  Not only public playgrounds and parks but also those playgrounds in the kindergarten or school vicinities play an important part in the child's motor development.  Unfortunately, in most cases, not enough is done to protect the safety of children at amusement parks and playgrounds and there is a great chance of children being badly hurt.  Some of the more dangerous facilities are water slides, regular slides, swimming pools, roundabouts, swings, rope ladders, etc.  Most children are hurt in the following accidents:

• 1. The facility is too high (over 2.5 meters) and underneath instead of there being something to soften the landing (like sand) the ground is hard or even cement.
• 2. The ladders are smooth and slippery with nothing to hold on to while climbing them.
• 3. There are no safety bars for holding on to in most playground facilities.
• 4. Parts made of wood with nails sticking out.
• 5. The slides end about one meter above the ground and the babies have to be caught before they land with their head/bottom on the hard ground.
• 6. The bases of the facilities are not pinned down enough into the ground making the facility unstable causing the children to trip.
• 7. There are no appropriate signs defining the age of children who are allowed to use the facility or the playground.
• 8. The swings move the foundations to such a level that it is dangerous for the young child who will probably fall off.
• 9. The chains of the swings are rusty and worn out and at any moment can tear away.
• 10. Other facilities have sharp or rough corners which can hurt the children.
• 11. There are poles and stakes sticking out of the ground.
• 12. Poles and/or bars of a facility which are too close to each other (less than 10 meters) a child's head or neck can get stuck in between them which can cause strangulation, choking and even death.

Who can be sued?  A child hurt in a play ground or amusement park can, through his parents, make a damage claim against the party responsible, usually the person in charge of maintenance of the park or the owner.  When referring to a public play ground it is fair to assume that this would be a claim against the Local Council.  In such claims there are two main types of claim:

• a) The facility at the amusement park is not intact thereby causing injury to the child.
• b) Negligent safety requirements at the facility, for example: A water slide must be such that one surfer does not jump in immediately after another so that they do not crash into each other.

In this article we will relate to the first incident.

Despite the fact that in Israel there is a determined standard which must be met (Standard 1498), most of the public parks and playgrounds do not meet these criteria.  According to law the Local Council must check and supervise the playground facilities at least once a month and make sure they are intact.  Unfortunately, most of the Local Councils are negligent in fulfilling this responsibility.

Supervision is not in accordance with the standards set and in a majority of playgrounds there is no supervision at all.  The Local Councils are therefore endangering the lives of children who can be badly hurt and sometimes even die.

According to a 2003 report made by those responsible for setting playground standards, only the following Local Councils acted according to law by annually checking playground facilities:  Ashdod, Beer Sheva, Beit Shemesh, Bat Hefer, Givatayim, Herzlia, Hadera, Kfar Saba, Carmiel, Lehavim, Moddin, Neve Dkalim, Nazereth, Netanya, Omer, Afula, Arad, Petach Tikva, Tsoran, Cesarea, Kiryat Ono, Rishon Lezion, Ramat Gan, RAMAT Hasharon, Ramat Yishai and Tel Aviv. 

Local Councils which did not make annual maintenance checks on playgrounds that year were:  Haifa, all the Krayot (Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Ata, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Tivon), Akko, Nahariya, Natzeret Illit, Tiberias, Katzrin, Kiryat Shmona, Tsfat, Masada, Rosh Pina, Tirat HaCarmel, Zichron Yakov, Migdal HaEmek, Yoknea, Or Yehuda, Jerusalem, Holon, Bat Yam, Givatayim, Givat Shmuel, Eilat, Ramle, Raanana, Rosh HaAyin, Pardes Hanna, Karkur, Nesher and others.

Parents are also responsible for looking after their children.  According to law parents must check the places they let their children play to make sure they are safe.  This will change according to the age of the child, conditions on the ground, and the type of dangers that exist and if necessary the parents must take the child away.

For example:  A child of two years old - There is no doubt that responsibility falls on the parents and they will be likely held responsible if an accident occurs.  A child of 10 years old - The parents are less responsible and their contributory guilt will be less.  A 15 year old - the parents are not contributory guilty partners, the child himself should be held responsible. 

In the case of an 8 year old girl who was hurt in a playground under the responsibility of the Akko Municipality.  While running in the park, a tall, spiky branch sticking out of a bush, went into her left eye.  The child was seriously wounded in the eye.  The court ruled that in this case the parents are 50% guilty for letting the child play in a park not suitable for her age group.

The financial compensations ruled by the court can reach six - seven figures depending on the parameters including levels of permanent disability, functional disability, the type of injury and the amount of guilt of the child and/or parent.  For example:  A girl of 5.5 years old was wounded in the eye at a playground accident as a result of a protruding piece of steel.  The child lost her eyesight in that eye.  At the time of the accident the child's 10 year old sister was looking after her.  This places heavy responsibility on the child's parents.  The court ruled that despite the fact that the child was awarded 30% disability, her functional disability was 40%.  In this incident the court made the Local Council pay compensation of over one million shekels (after deducting the parent's contributory part since they were also guilty). 

In summary, negligence on the part of those installing and maintaining playground facilities, and negligence on the part of Local Councils does not absolve parents' duty to look after their children properly.

Claims over seven years old lose their legitimacy except for those claims made in court.  It is important to know that a written letter to the insurance company is not considered a claim which can halt the race of time and has no legal significance.  If negotiations with an insurance company are made without court involvement the insurance company will automatically cease negotiations after seven years from the date of the accident and the claim becomes then illegitimate. 

It is important to point out that injuries in playgrounds usually happen to small children and the above law of seven years legitimacy is somewhat eased and the seven year time limit will start from the child's 18^th birthday.  In other words, a small child can claim damages until the age of 25.

In any case, it is recommended not to wait until making a claim.  The more time that goes by, the more difficult it is to make the claim.  An adult of 24 may be refused by a lawyer to handle his case because collecting evidence after so many years is sometimes absolutely impossible.

Other sources which can be sued for that same accident could be - Personal Student Accidents Insurance Policy - if this refers to a child between 5-18 years old.  This policy compensates all Israeli children for an accident which happens. This policy applies to all Israeli children 24 hours a day 365 days of the year, including when they are abroad.  This policy entitles the child to a one-time compensation, mostly according to the level of disability from the accident.  For every percentage of permanent disability the child is entitled to $800.  If for example, he was awarded 10% permanent disability the child would be entitled to receive $8,000 from the insurance company.  For this purpose it is worthwhile to hire a lawyer with experience in children's accidents.  Watch out for the time eligibility clause.  With this kind of insurance policy there is only three years for making such a claim.  This sometimes creates confusion with insurance agents and lawyers who are not expert in the field of bodily injuries and sometime they forget that this kind of claim can be made only within three years.  This time limit also applies from when the child is 18 years old.  In other words, regarding this type of policy a claim can be made until the child reaches 21 years old. 

This article does not come instead of consultation with a lawyer expert in children's accidents in playgrounds.  If there is any contradiction between what is written here and the consultation provided by a lawyer, always prefer what the lawyer says.  Please call us for free advice!

Adv. Gil Goldreich