Lawsuits take school's swing sets away from kids

This video is part of the "Faces of Lawsuit Abuse" campaign. To learn more visit http://www.FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org.

Everyone has favorite childhood memories. For many people, those memories include rolling down slides, dangling off of monkey bars and swinging on swing sets at their local neighborhood playground.

But elementary school students in Cabell County, West Virginia, may miss out on some of those childhood pleasures. That is because the county's school system has decided to remove swing sets from all school playgrounds, due to lawsuit fears.

The decision came after the school district faced two different lawsuits from the same parent over relatively minor injuries suffered by his two kids in separate incidents on a school playground. Facing a tight budget because of the current economic situation, the school system determined that it could not afford the potential costs of playground-related lawsuits and decided to remove the swing sets.

"We're disabling our swings to keep us out of the courtroom," says Cabell County Schools superintendent William Smith. "Economically, school districts are really having to watch their budgets closely. Playgrounds are very important but the instructional program trumps that."

Smith recalls his own experience growing up in Cabell County and how much everyone enjoyed the playgrounds. Kids got the typical scrapes and bruises, but parents took care of those injuries without resorting to lawsuits.

"The culture has changed so much," he laments.

One school that is losing swings is Guyandotte Elementary School in Huntington. Donna Mooney attended Guyandotte and currently has a daughter attending. She is disappointed that her daughter won't get to share in her own childhood experiences on the school's swing set.

"The tragedy is that the kids are losing everything that is fun about being a kid," she says. "You can't bubble wrap everything from them. They have to be allowed to play and be kids."

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[dudeitsart]

shit like this is stupid along with the family that made the school take off the swings.

there's a mexican saying that goes like this..

"in the U.S. you can trip on a uneven curb and you can sue the city, state, government, even the owner of the house where the curb was in front off.

in mexico you trip on a curb, they'll call you a fucking idiot."

these lawsuits destroy people and society.

[areuter727]

Hey everybody,

Instead of leaving a comment and then going about your lives do this:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Call AND write your local, state and federal lawmakers to end lawsuit abuse.

If not then this type of stuff will continue to ruin America.

[angelahk28f]

The rest of the story:

1. National safety standards now call for rubber-based surfaces around swing sets. The school did not want to pay for the update.

2. "During the past five years, the school district's casualty insurance provider, the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management, has had to pay two liability claims totaling $1,513 because of swing set injuries."-The Herald-Dispatch

[angelahk28f]

So what's the true story? Did the injury come from improperly maintained equipment? What was the exact injuries? Was the problem addressed after the first child was injured? The school board would have settled if they were not at fault some way.

I know our local park has a slide with a big hole in it for months. I'm surprised a kid hasn't chopped off a hand.

[Ramnement]

it's sad how "sensitive" or just "money grubbing" some people are today. Like honestly people, Don't sue the fucking place because you want to be a dick to every single person after your lawsuit. Things like this pretty much have ruined our freedom(s) in America, as a kid, as anybody. Hell who knows, what if someone decides to sue The Hospital system because they purposely fell on their ass? I guess we'll all have to wear rubber suits by then before we come into life-endangering situations.

[underman8000]

That is such a dick move!! not the swing set!! take the slides but not the fucking swing set!! I mean what the fuck?!

REALLY?!!

[sr71ablackbird]

@zpgJiggleBilly i hear you there about the productive learning enviroment, yet the teachers and the so-called school experets whine and moan about it, then they have the nerve to cry out about childhood obesity when they ban childrens games such as side-doge, kickball and tag ( 3 of the games that burn up the most calories.) right there to me, that's the pot calling the kettle black. I'm just wondering if those so-called 'educated ones' are actually that dumbed down?

[sr71ablackbird]

@jewel11 heck, anybody can get hurt doing anything, from what everyone says, heck, we can even get cancer from the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. i just think that this particular set of parents never heard of bactine is all...lol... I was lucky enough to be raised where everything was metal, except the swing seats which were wood covered in rubber.

[sr71ablackbird]

just plain damned stupidity from the parents to make a quick buck is all it is. Heck, parents, little boys and girls are bound to get bumps, bruises, scrapes, scratches & whatnot while they are playing on a playground, that's just part of life, whether it be a playground at a school or public park. SO LIVE WITH IT, ya parent jokers ever heard of bactine?..lol.. I was born in the 60s, raised in the 70s & had the experiences w/ these playgrounds, both school and park, yet, I am still alive !!!

[tkcrofamericans]

I would like to know the names of the Idiot parents that sued the school over getting hurt being a kid.They need to be outed so we can publicly humiliated for being stupid and also the lawyer so we can stop the stupidity.

[wrestlemaniac202]

I work at an outdoor paintball facility and we have waivers that people need to sign before playing paintball but I've seen case studies on paintball fields that are insured that got sued over shit like a rolled ankle