Slope Park Racks Up Playground Injury Claims

Following a number of reported injuries that caused pieces of playground equipment to be removed or welded in place, the newly-renovated Slope Park is high on the list of riskiest parks in the city when it comes to playground injury lawsuits, according to new data released by the Comptroller’s office.

The park, located on 6th Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets, had six playground-related claims between 2005 and 2014, making it tied as one of the playgrounds with second highest number of claims, according to the report. Three of those listed are attributed to the platform swing, which was removed after the injuries occurred in the fall of 2013.

Brooklyn fares far worse than the rest of the city when it comes to playground injury suits, according to the data, with 209 claims in the borough – compared to 123 claims in Manhattan and 111 in Queens and the Bronx each. In total, 577 playground-related claims were filed against the city over the last 1o years – an average of over one a week – and the city has paid out a total of $20,644,448 in claims during that period.

More than 30 percent of injuries cited in the claims were due to improper surfacing – including missing or defective matting, cracked or broken surfaces, holes in the ground, and rubber mats that burn too hot in summer months – accounted for 176 claims during the review period. Other claims cited poor maintenance and defective equipment, such as swings and slides, improper playground design; and protruding nails or trash.

Certain types of equipment were more likely to contribute to injuries than others. For example, climbing apparatuses account for 10 percent of all claims, slides account for 5 percent and 4 percent of claims are swing-related. (One more thing to be paranoid about, parents: monkey bars.) Many playgrounds listed in the report have already been repaired or redesigned by the Parks Department, and in some cases, like at Slope Park, equipment has been removed completely.

Meanwhile, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer wrote a letter last week urging the city’s Parks Department to dedicate more funds to improving the safety at local playgrounds.

“As a father of two young children, I know firsthand how important safety is on our playgrounds, both to keep our kids out of harm’s way and to reduce risk to City taxpayers,” Stringer said in a statement. “With claims at their highest point in a decade, it’s clear that the Department of Parks and Recreation must find ways to improve safety in our City’s playgrounds. We owe it to our kids to adopt best practices for safety and install state-of-the-art equipment in our playgrounds that reduces the potential for injuries.”