Playground Liability Lawsuit Threatens School Equipment
A $5,000 jury verdict for a child injured on school apparatus has sparked fears that playgrounds across North Yakima will be stripped of their play structures.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A jury in the superior court at North Yakima gave the guardian of Horatio Bruenn, 8 years old, a judgment for $5,000 damages against the North Yakima school district for injuries sustained last November. Testimony showed the child was playing on a teeter board that had been removed from its standard and placed across a swing. The case will be appealed, but if the verdict is sustained, the removal of all apparatus from public school playgrounds is considered certain.
“If the verdict is sustained, removal of all apparatus from the public school playgrounds is certain.”
The tension between child safety, institutional liability, and the availability of public play spaces is a recurring theme in civic life. This 1916 dispute shows that the fear of litigation leading to 'risk-aversion' in public facilities has a long history.
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