To ask what you'd do in response to this?

[HOHOHOvariesBeforeBrovaries]

This is very outing (and very long) but kudos if you make it to the end.

DD fell and hurt herself a couple of weeks ago. Toddlers fall all the time, it's a fact of life, but the reason she hurt herself quite so badly was due to the layout of the park she was on at the time. The park is accessed via an astroturf ramp; this gets slippy, there aren't railings or anything to get up the ramp, and the gate opens outwards so you have to sort of edge around it on the ramp (hard to explain).

DD slipped off the astroturf ramp and cut her forehead open on a jagged piece of metal that hadn't been sanded down, connecting the gate to a fence post. Lots of blood, big panic, stuck back together, she's ok now. The hospital and several other people told us we should get in touch with the shopping centre where the park is - some were saying we should sue, others saying to make a complaint. Once we'd recovered from the shock a little I sent an email over just letting them know what happened, but the letter was polite and I stated, "we don't want this to seem like an official complaint because we love the park, it's made shopping much easier and we don't want to risk it being shut down/removed due to health and safety, we just wanted to let you know in case you can sand it down or move the astroturf ramp to make it safer for little ones going forwards". We acknowledged that she's a toddler, accidents happen, kids fall, it was just this design flaw that made the injuries particularly bad, and made it clear we had no intention of suing because she's a kid, kids fall over, you can't sue someone every time your kids fall over. It's a new park, so it's not as though it's been there for years and years without incident before.

I had a polite response back from the manager quite quickly, saying they couldn't see what had caused the issue, did I have any pictures etc. I sent pictures over of the jagged bit and I've heard nothing since, no acknowledgment etc but I thought maybe they're looking into getting it sanded down before they reply (he said they'd respond once I sent over pictures).

One of our friends works in one of the coffee shops in the shopping centre and knew all about what happened, and told us that he spoke to the manager the other day and asked what was going to happen. Apparently the manager was very dismissive and said "If they took better care of their child, it wouldn't have happened".

DP was right next to DD, watching her, when it happened. She slipped and he just wasn't quick enough to catch her.

If he'd sent me an email saying "There's nothing we can do but thanks for the feedback", fine. If he'd sent an email saying "It looks like it was just an accident", fine. To not respond to our email but criticise our parenting when he didn't even witness what happened? I alternate between being angry and being a bit apathetic really, which is why I'm posting here.

Part of me wants to just shrug my shoulders and say if you want to run your business that way, go for it, and just vote with our feet and not return (we're in a honeymoon/it's almost Christmas/generally happy bubble at the moment which may account for being quite laid back about what is actually quite a horrible thing for a stranger to say) - but part of me is quite hurt and angry, and wants to send an email to say that we're aware of what has been said (but I don't want to drop our friend in it!) and we would appreciate any criticisms of our parenting to be directed to us rather than spoken about behind our backs, particularly when we've been so calm and polite in our email.

Sorry, this is SO long-winded. Please be gentle, I don't want to kick up a fuss but I do want him to realise that it's unprofessional and unfair to say that if you see what I mean?

Sorry. Gnome suggested it first. I second that!

Can't believe you ate being fobbed off and ignored, how rude. I too think you started off too soft and were far too nice. Manager sounds like an arsehole. You should definitely pursue this and possibly take it further. Just say you think their lack of an adequate response has been unacceptable and you didn't want to make and official complaint but feel you have been forced into it. Whether council is crap or not you should let them know.

A responsible manager would be very glad that you kindly pointed this out. They would probably invite you in to show them exactly what happened and make some arrangement with you to show the complaint is being dealt with.
Instead he's just sneered at you.
You've given him a chance, very kindly, to sort it. He hasn't taken it. Time to take it further IMO. The advice to contact the HSE is good - they will help.

Firstly hope your DD is ok.

You need to send another emailing entitled formal complaint, refer to your previous correspondences that they have failed to respond to. However, also be clear about what it is you are expecting them to do, investigate, rectify the issue, apologise, compensate, all of the above?

Give a strict timescale for them to respond within, 7 days would not be unreasonable.

As you have reported your DD's injuries they should have reported the matter to their public liability insurers by now so may be waiting to her back from them whether the insurers want to investigate or are happy for them to do so themselves. Either way they should at the very least acknowledge your concerns.

I think playgrounds have to have safety inspections annually to satisfy insurance conditions. The inspections should flag something like this up and will rate the risk and the urgency of remedial action. These inspections are usually very thorough and I can imagine something like this would require immediate action. (Even things like the speed with which a gate closes is checked).

He is being totally reckless in not dealing with this and I think you need to email him back firmly asking for confirmation, and photographic evidence, that this has been fixed. I agree with PPs that you don't need to mention what your friend said.

I agree with lovelearning here. I don't like the compensation culture but in this case a two year old child was injured because of their negligence! What if she'd hit herself an inch in another direction and lost an eye?

I'd see a lawyer - legal action may make them take notice

Hope your LO is okay.

Obviously the nice approach hasn't worked , the manager is sweeping it under the carpet.
Maybe an official complaint is the way to go. As it would involve an inspection and remedy to the problem, thus avoiding potential injury to another child.

Who owns the playground? Is it the shopping centre? The Council?

I would write to whoever the owner is and say you've had no satisfactory response from their manager so before you consider taking matters further you'd like to give them an opportunity to respond.

The organisation I work for would pay out thousands to avoid legal action if something like this happened at one of our places. I'm no fan of the compensation culture but it sounds like a financial hit might be the only way to make them take action and avoid someone else being hurt.

Contact the health and safety team at your local council and report. Tell them what's happened and lack of response. The manager of the site should have completed and submitted a riddor form as your LO, a MoP, was removed from the site to hospital for an injury. There are clear standards for ensuring play site and equipment safety including regular inspections by a competent person. You should follow up to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else or that there are other failings which only come to light when someone is hurt. [Sad] A healthy and safety inspector investigation will achieve this.

Keep going! I would risk the thought of being a daily mail sad face if it would prevent other children hurting themselves potentially so badly it will affect the rest of their lives. If it means hitting them financially so they take notice then that's what has to be done.
Glad your DD is ok now.

I'd buy a tube of chemical metal and put a good blob over the sharp bit. Its an odd kind of glue.

So not do this - you will be responsible for any further accidents

Yes see a no win no fee solicitor - you can call them off anytime

They pay insurance - the insurance companies payout -

It needs sorting and it'll be free

Because of the manager's arrogance that would spur me on to take it further if I'm honest.

OH is a Playground Inspector and does a lot of work for RoSPA. He says the first thing to do is ask for a copy of the Inspection Records. This should tell you if this has been flagged up as an issue needing attention - or indeed whether they even bother to have inspections done!

You would need to request this from the manager. If he doesn't respond, engaging a "no win, no fee" solicitor to ask on your behalf has been known to work before :)

Inform manager that as you have heard nothing you are making a report to the HSE to ensure the dangerous condition of the site is addressed. Then do it. Include copies of your correspondence.
I get that your main concern is to have the park made safe but if he ends up getting a bollocking as a result then he only has himself to blame.

I had to make a similar complaint about a shopping centre steps where two people I know has fallen due to the poor design. I called the council and they put me through to the department that deals with this. (I can't remember which department now). They called me back to find out the details, did an inspection, asked the shopping centre to put markings on the steps and reported back to me. They were very professional and took it seriously. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the department but it was responsible for health and safety in public places.

Just thought - I made a safely complaint about a monkey bars climbing frame - it was fixed and emailed to say so the next day -

Think of other kids safety - what if the next one lost an eye?

I think the problem started when you said you weren't going to sue. You gave them no impetus to put things right.

Definitely write back and tell them that even though your dp was right beside her he couldn't get to her in time.

I would do what sychnant said and get a copy of the report. I would then be writing again saying as this has gone on for such a time you have since taken advice and will be pursuing a claim.

Will your dd be scarred as this could impact her future.

I would definitely pursue this because I would hate to have this happen to another child. I like to live with a clear conscious knowing I did everything I could to stop another child who might not be so lucky as your dd from going through this.

What Syn said, you could also apply to see these records via a Freedom of Information request. You have to do it in writing but they have 28 days to respond. They can only refuse to supply the information if it would jeopardise something quite serious and I can't see how they could refuse to supply inspection records, repair records for any issues found on inspection etc. You don't have to request it from the manager but you could do so to start with giving them the chance to provide it and stating that you'll simply request the documentation via solicitor/FOI request instead if he fails to respond.

The manager needs to take this seriously. Yes, accidents will happen, especially to young children who dash about BUT what if it happens to another child? It certainly could do so if there's a nasty sharp bit and the ramp is slippery.

How would you feel about complaining to the local council about this? Surely there's a department that is responsible for children's play areas, even if it is in a shopping centre? If no joy from them maybe the
Citizen's Advice Bureau could point you in the right direction.

As an aside - they r very easy if they're ignoring it because u said u wouldn't sue, because there is now a clear record that they r aware of a possible problem. If another child was hurt, I believe they would not only be liable for compensation, but would likely be fined heavily for negligence. It's one thing to make a mistake and end up with dangerous piece of metal, but entirely another to leave it that way once someone has been hurt.
It's possible the manager u dealt with has passed it onto his h&s rep, who will take action, even tho he himself doesn't realise what he needs to do, but either way, talking to the council and HSE can't do any harm.

Manager is being a bit of a knob. I would contact the Local Authority or the HSE with very precise details of the repair that needs doing and ask them to follow up and let me know what happens. I wouldn't care if they said my parenting was rubbish, that's just knob talk.

Also - if you complain to a company - you should only ever state the facts -

2 year old being accident prone is neither here or there - she should have landed safely

Slip should not be slippy - again nothing to hold on to - accident waiting to happen for any age

Can I ask how you would feel if another child had a similar accident and this time lost an eye? There is a very clear route to getting something done if you really want to. You find out about who deals with Health and Safety in your area and give them the responsibility for dealing with it. It is just too passive to say the council is rubbish in your area; you may find that this is one department who is sh*t hot in carrying out their responsibilities. One thing for certain is if you don't try nothing will get done. Using the Daily Fail as an excuse not to do anything is slightly odd when another child could get badly hurt.

Agree with yeoldma, if u care about other kids getting hurt, contact the relevant authorities, NOW. Giving the manager 7 days to respond (he'll be entitled to longer I suspect over Xmas, they should be working days...) or waiting up to 28 days to see records is a game u may choose to play to seek compensation, separately. But loads of kids will be on the playground in the meantime. The HSE don't have to wait to be allowed to see records, they can act before Xmas!