Page 2 | Child injured at Country Park

YOUSEECOLOURS · 2025-04-03T23:04:39+00:00

Just after a few others views as I'm not sure how I feel about this but my preschool aged daughter was visiting a local but fairly large country park last week with her grandparents. There was an outdoor 'storytime' area which included a bench made out of a plank of wood on top of two wooden posts, this was was also surrounded by other children's stepping stones etc. She went to stand on the bench (I do appreciate it's a bench not a climbing frame before that is commented on) but the plank hadn't been attached to the posts and so the end that she didn't stand on flipped up and hit her in the face. Her chin and inside her mouth were bleeding lots but her teeth seemed OK at the time. I noticed tonight though that two of her front teeth are visibly very loose and leaning. I plan to call the dentist first thing and really hope they don't fall out as shes only little but would others complain to the park or is that too much? Her grandparents did get it logged in the incident book at the time but the staff apparently didn't seem too bothered. It just seems that it isn't very suitable for the area it was in or should have had some form of warnings?

Fountofwisdom · 04/04/2025 08:34

YOUSEECOLOURS · 04/04/2025 00:12

I would like to point out... I'm not after any thing from them, I just don't want this happening to another child who might not be as lucky to get away with just losing their teeth prematurely....

Definitely contact the management as a matter of urgency and explain what happened and that it needs to be fixed immediately to avoid further injuries

TeaRoseTallulah · 04/04/2025 08:39

Frozensun · 04/04/2025 00:22

There’s a duty of care here. Could it be reasonably expected that a visitor could/would stand on the ‘seat’? Yes, it should have been securely attached. I would lodge a formal complaint, so that the management become aware/are required to respond. I’d say they’re lucky that there hasn’t been other injuries.

This!

Needspaceforlego · 04/04/2025 08:44

Christwosheds · 04/04/2025 00:47

Agree. If it flipped when she stood on one end, then it could also have flipped if she had sat one one end.

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I was thinking the same thing. And someone could get seriously hurt.

Or if a group are on the bench they all stand up leaving Granny on the end - Granny falls!

Letmecallyouback · 04/04/2025 08:47

eurotravel · 04/04/2025 00:13

urgh Neither of us posting having judged anything. Just pointed out it’s a seat / bench. I said check facts first too.

But op had already said she knew that it was a seat and not for climbing on, so it didn’t really need the obvious pointed out. I’d agree to check facts though. How do we even know who put it there, it could have been another visitor and nothing to do with the park.

TheNightingalesStarling · 04/04/2025 08:48

IF the weight of a small.child can break something, its notvsuitable as a seat.

Gliblet · 04/04/2025 08:52

Anotherparkingthread · 04/04/2025 01:35

It's complaints like this that ruin things for everybody else though.

You complain, the park gets the willies about potential lawsuits and people standing around doing compo face for articles in the local paper, and then decide to remove all the benches and storytime area all together.

No, we thank the visitor, do a review of the incident, work out how it happened, put measures in place to stop it happening again (better maintenance, more frequent checks, shorter lifecycle expectations for that type of item) and monitor to see if they work. Services getting removed is either down to this not being the first time there's been an injury and the venue not being able to address the risk (e.g. something like persistent flooding in heavy rain) or the venue wanted to remove the service anyway in which case they'll eventually do so with or without an excuse.

I don't think the majority of visitors have any idea of the number of little things that go wrong day to day and have to be addressed, which is right of course (we can't go putting up big 'TODAY WE HAD OUR #TH INJURY' signs, it scares parents 😁 ) but that does mean that when we do remove something from service for good reasons people often think we're overreacting or being mean. A good venue that cares about its visitors will be genuinely grateful for people reporting even minor accidents and near misses.

OP, definitely make sure the issue has been properly recorded and followed up, if the member of staff it was reported to hasn't been particularly well trained or was mid shift and there's a risk they forgot to pass the information on then you're doing the venue a favour.

SJM1988 · 04/04/2025 08:53

Its a seat so shouldn't be stood on... but I would just let whoever overseas the park know its not fixed down as a sort of FYI just so they know not a complaint.

itbemay1 · 04/04/2025 08:53

Yes let them know. If someone sat on it perhaps on the edge it could also hurt them. Hope DD is ok

itbemay1 · 04/04/2025 08:54

TheNightingalesStarling · 04/04/2025 08:48

IF the weight of a small.child can break something, its notvsuitable as a seat.

Totally agree

mydogfarts · 04/04/2025 08:56

Gliblet · 04/04/2025 08:52

No, we thank the visitor, do a review of the incident, work out how it happened, put measures in place to stop it happening again (better maintenance, more frequent checks, shorter lifecycle expectations for that type of item) and monitor to see if they work. Services getting removed is either down to this not being the first time there's been an injury and the venue not being able to address the risk (e.g. something like persistent flooding in heavy rain) or the venue wanted to remove the service anyway in which case they'll eventually do so with or without an excuse.

I don't think the majority of visitors have any idea of the number of little things that go wrong day to day and have to be addressed, which is right of course (we can't go putting up big 'TODAY WE HAD OUR #TH INJURY' signs, it scares parents 😁 ) but that does mean that when we do remove something from service for good reasons people often think we're overreacting or being mean. A good venue that cares about its visitors will be genuinely grateful for people reporting even minor accidents and near misses.

OP, definitely make sure the issue has been properly recorded and followed up, if the member of staff it was reported to hasn't been particularly well trained or was mid shift and there's a risk they forgot to pass the information on then you're doing the venue a favour.

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Totally agree! Good to see some more places that react sensibly to these things

WhatNoRaisins · 04/04/2025 08:57

Agree it probably wouldn't be safe to sit on either. It's one of those where I wouldn't complain because I want compo but because the owners need to review the situation and consider how it can be made safer.

helpfulperson · 04/04/2025 08:58

are you sure it was a seat, not just equipment for creative play where someone had put a plank over stepping logs. either way email the management and alert them.

FindingMeno · 04/04/2025 09:00

Frozensun · 04/04/2025 00:22

There’s a duty of care here. Could it be reasonably expected that a visitor could/would stand on the ‘seat’? Yes, it should have been securely attached. I would lodge a formal complaint, so that the management become aware/are required to respond. I’d say they’re lucky that there hasn’t been other injuries.

This is, as far as I am aware, the position in law.
Whoever is responsible for the structure should be made aware so it can be repaired and another accident doesn't happen.
Well done grandparents for having it entered in the accident book.

Letmecallyouback · 04/04/2025 09:01

TeaRoseTallulah · 04/04/2025 08:39

This!

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It’s a little more complex. The duty of care with country parks is to ensure visitors are ‘reasonably’ safe and to take ‘reasonable’ care to prevent accidents because you can never eliminate incidents completely in a wild environment. Like in a forest for example it wouldn’t be the land owners duty of care to make sure your kids didn’t climb up trees and fall out and hurt themselves, it would be your own personal responsibility while visiting. You’d need to demonstrate they had not taken reasonable care when we don’t even know who put the plank there, it could easily have been another visitor did it for their kids to sit on.

TheIceBear · 04/04/2025 09:14

I would let them know. If it is not attached it could easily collapse if a heavy adult sat on it.

Sconeandtea · 04/04/2025 09:45

I would definitely follow this up as it sounds dangerous. My son was hurt at a country house when a wooden fence panel fell on him. I was just so relieved he wasn’t seriously hurt that I didn’t follow it up. I did report it but wish I’d followed up further to ensure that it had been fixed.

BogRollBOGOF · 04/04/2025 09:59

It's worth following up. It doesn't matter whether she stood or sat, the weight of a small child should be stable on a bench, and it needs securing to avoid further injuries to other people using it.

Or if it is a plank plonked on some stumps, the plank needs removing. I would have thought that is less likely as it's quite a specific height to be interpreted as a bench and the kind of logs used as stepping stones/ stools tend to be proportioned differently (shorter/ wider) to legs for a bench.

FancyNewt · 04/04/2025 11:28

Yes I'd make them aware. Regardless if someone sits or stands it should be attached.

purpleme12 · 04/04/2025 11:54

I guess it depends if it was actually supposed to bench, in which case it should all be nailed down safe and secure and this wouldn't ever have happened.

Or if this is something different. I don't know if this wasn't actually a bench at all from what you're saying

I just think if it was actually a bench they'd have taken it more seriously

Anyway depends

spicemaiden · 04/04/2025 11:57

It would be a reasonable expectation that the plank would have been fixed.

MinnieCoops · 04/04/2025 17:12

I would message and tell them it’s knocked her teeth wobbly.

Jabberwok · 04/04/2025 17:26

Frozensun · 04/04/2025 00:22

There’s a duty of care here. Could it be reasonably expected that a visitor could/would stand on the ‘seat’? Yes, it should have been securely attached. I would lodge a formal complaint, so that the management become aware/are required to respond. I’d say they’re lucky that there hasn’t been other injuries.

Spot on . I worked for an insurance company and did my exams 25 years ago, courts were already placing a higher duty of care on business, home owners, employers etc. The duty of care for a place that attracts children would be even higher.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that someone would stand on such a bench, therefore if the op wanted compensation they would most likely get it.