Playground Safety - What You Need to Know
With school now in session, it is important to be aware of the risks and consequences involved when young children are playing on playgrounds. As a parent, it’s always heartbreaking to see your child get seriously hurt on a playground. Specifically, who is responsible for a child’s injuries if this occurs? As is the case with other accidents, the Occupiers Liability Act governs the responsibilities of property owners when injuries occur. In the case of public schools, it would be the school board that would be held liable. If it is a private school, then the owner of that school would be held liable. If it is a playground in a public park, then the municipality would be held liable.
Schools can ensure safe use of playgrounds including regular inspections of the premises to ensure there are no dangerous objects laying around, the use of playground materials that do not conduct immense heat to avoid children getting burned, and checking for deficiencies in the equipment such as cracks and jagged edges.
It should also be noted that playgrounds in Canada must adhere to the standards of the Canadian Standards Association’s Children’s Playground and Surfacing.
The Education Act also outlines the responsibilities of faculty at schools and what their supervisory roles are with respect to students.
If a playground injury does occur and the injured party (parent or guardian) intends to bring a legal claim forward, then negligence must be demonstrated. In order to prove negligence, three elements must be met:
The defendant (Municipality or School) owed a duty of care.
The defendant’s conduct fell below the standard of care.
The standard of care was breached when the plaintiff suffered injuries.
The standard of care to be exercised by schools (or daycare) in providing for the supervision and protection of children in their care is that of a careful and prudent parent. This was established in the 1981 Supreme Court of Canada case of Myers v. Peel Country Board of Education.
Section 3(1) of The Occupiers Liability Act also establishes the standard of care that extends to property owners such as municipalities:
“An occupier of premises owes a duty to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that persons entering on the premises, and the property brought on the premises by those persons are reasonably safe while on the premises.”
If it can be demonstrated that the defendant breached this duty of care, then they fell below the standard of care and thus negligence can be proven.
