It is a sad month for one Florida family, as they have been informed on the death of a foster child in their care. He had been playing on a rope-style swing set by himself for about 20 minutes, when he was caught in an open loop in the rope swing and died of asphyxia.
The investigation is still in process to determine the circumstances of this tragedy.
Playground-related asphyxiation is the leading cause of childhood fatalities involving playsets or playgrounds.
How Many Children Are Injured or Killed on Playgrounds?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 200,000 children under the age of 15 are injured in playground-related accidents. Almost half of playground injuries are severe enough to cause fractures, concussions, amputations, dislocations or internal injuries.
In the 10-year period of the CDC study on playground accidents, 147 children were killed. Approximately 56 percent of fatalities were due to asphyxia. Falls from playsets was a distance second at 20 percent.
It should be pointed out that 75 percent of nonfatal injuries occur on public playgrounds, while 70 percent of fatalities occur in playgrounds at home. The study does not mention if the relatively high fatality rate of home playground sets is due to supervision issues. It is possible that a public playground will have more adults around to help in an emergency.
If your child is injured on a public or private playground, then there is a chance that someone else may be at fault for the unfortunate injury. A personal injury attorney will be able to advise you on your legal options.
To see how we help personal injury victims in their time of need, follow us regularly on our legal blog.
[Did You Know? Children ages 5 to 9 are most likely to be seriously injured in playground accidents at schools.]