Many deaths and injuries could be prevented if playgrounds – from equipment to surfacing to layout – were designed with safety in mind. When safety is not a priority playground liability is surely to be a issue. When a student is hurt on a school playground, first and foremost, school staff should offer first aid and typically notify parents of the injury if further treatment is needed.
The vast majority of playground injuries are minor and do not require further follow-up. However, it is estimated that 10% of injuries sustained in elementary schools result in a “major” injury requiring follow-up care. In these cases, parents are notified and advised that they should seek further medical care for their child.
Seventy percent of all school injuries occur during recess or physical education. A review of injury data has revealed that the lack of proper supervision is considered a “contributing factor in playground injuries over 40% of the time”.
This article will focus on supervision, “duty of care” and and one court’s ruling related to supervision, as an illustration of supervision issues. The notion of “accident”, which is described as “instantaneous”, is examined. Injuries on the other hand are often found to be preventable through established rules and “active” supervision, the kind of supervision which is proactive to intervene in dangerous play.
In the case of Norman v. Turkey Run Community School Corp., 411 N.E.2d 614 (Ind. 1980), plaintiff, age 7, was running and bumped heads in a collision with a 6-year-old during morning recess. There was no oral or written directive to defendant’s teachers to prohibit children from running on the playground during a supervised recess.
On that particular day, seven or eight teachers were supervising the recess which was more than the number of supervisors required for the 188 children on the schoolyard.
At the time of the incident, two teachers who were standing in close proximity to the site of the injury, looked up but were unable to warn plaintiff. The trial court, therefore, found in favor of defendant School because the collision was “instantaneous.”