School and Playground Accident Compensation

Parents are often not aware that they can make a claim for compensation if their child is injured as a result of using equipment in a school playground, whereas school playground compensation claims are actually quite common in the UK. You may be surprised to learn that during the past 5 years, in Greater Manchester, Greater London and Birmingham more than £3.3 million has already been paid out in playground accident compensation.

School playground equipment

The use of equipment such as playground climbing frames requires teacher supervision since children who are very young have not yet developed an appreciation of the danger involved at play. In addition, the suitability of the surface below playground equipment is an issue since it should be adequate to cushion any fall. Particularly, climbing frames shouldn't be too high – the less height, the lower the drop to the ground if your child falls.

When considering the type of playground equipment to install, the school must consider the age of children and the risk of injury to them whilst using it. The safety of children must be the primary consideration for schools since it is assumed that children are not sufficiently aware of the dangers associated with many activities and therefore not capable of ensuring their own safety.

School duty of care for children's safety

You may consider that children are naturally inquisitive and accidents can happen but nurseries, school and colleges have a duty of care to ensure the safety of children within the school, outside in the playground and in some cases outside of the school such as when children are on a school trip. And the younger children are the more likely it will be that a school playground accident compensation claim will be successful.

• The most common school negligence claims for children are:
• Playground injury claims
• Trips and slips within the school premises or grounds
• Playground equipment accidents
• Children's classroom accidents sometimes resulting in a classroom negligence claim
• Children's Sports accidents on the school playing field
• Children's injuries sustained whilst helping to carry equipment without adequate training
• Assaults and malicious attacks when on the school premises
• Accidents during a school trip

For parents or guardians the mere thought of our children being injured causes immense distress not least because having entrusted their care to the school we expect them to be kept safe. When they are not, we quite naturally feel upset, angry, frustrated and sometimes guilty among many other emotions. It is for this reason that the Children's Accident Helpline exists. Our specialist team of solicitors will handle all aspects of your child's School Playground Accident Compensation claim whilst you get on with the important job of nursing your child back to health.

Call us on 0800 433 7690 for an informal chat and free advice about your child's school or playground accident. Alternatively complete our simple online claim form. Don't delay because other children could also be at risk.