An 8-year-old girl was playing at a playground with her family. The playground was about a year old and very popular. While on the monkey bars about 7 feet up in the air, the child lost her grip and fell to the surrounding loose-fill material engineered wood fiber surface below. She hit her head and sustained serious life-altering injuries.
The Red circled area highlights the displaced playground surfacing in the area where the 8-year-old fell. The surfacing material only measured 3 inches deep before hitting hard compacted earth.
I was hired to investigate the incident and determine the cause of the 8-year-old’s injuries. I conducted a site inspection shortly after her fall. The surrounding area under the monkey bars where the child fell was comprised of loose-fill engineered wood fiber. Under the monkey bars was a “scuff mine” or significant depression of displaced surfacing material from frequent use and weather/water drainage. Within the depression, the depth of the engineered wood fiber measured 3 inches. Evidence suggested that when the park was built a year ago, the engineered wood fiber was 12 inches deep. There was not any maintenance program in place to inspect, rake, and replenish lost surfacing material within the playground. Thus, since its original placement, it was unlikely that the surfacing material under the monkey bars had been maintained to a safe critical fall height. Generally, loose-fill material like engineered wood fiber compresses about 25% over time. Thus, a 12 inch deep engineered wood surface would compress to 9 inches and would likely protect children falling from up to 10 feet high. At the time of the inspection, the engineered wood fiber surfacing measured 3 inches and likely only protected children from up to an estimated 3 feet in the air. The 8-year-old fell from the monkey bars located 7 feet in the air onto an insufficient depth of surfacing material. The owners knew or should have known about the dangers of improperly maintained playground surfacing. The owners of the playground failed to maintain the playground according to –STM F1487: Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use and CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook.
An example of displaced and washed out engineered wood fiber.
All playground surfacing material has a Critical Fall Height (CFH) that determines how much impact it can safely absorb. The Critical Fall Height is the safety threshold for playground surfacing and must always be equal to or greater than the surrounding playground equipment’s actual fall height to be considered safe. For example, if the monkey bars have a fall height of 84 inches (7 feet), the surrounding surfacing material must have a critical fall height of at least 7 feet or taller, meaning that a fall from the monkey bars onto the surrounding surface would likely not result in a serious injury. Had the incident playground been maintained to a critical fall height of at least the fall height of monkey bars (7 feet), the child would not have sustained significant injuries. The owners of the playground should have had a regular maintenance program in place to adequality maintain the critical fall height of the playground surfacing material.
Ellen Szubski, Ph.D., CXLT, CPSI, AHFP, is the senior human factors consultant at The Warren Group. She earned a Doctorate of Philosophy in Human Factors Psychology and a Master of Science in Applied Psychology from Clemson University. She did her dissertation on “The Influence of Pedestrian Biological Motion on Time-To-Collision Estimates at Night”. She is also a Certified XL Tribometrist, Certified Playground Safety Inspector and a Certified Associate Human Factors Professional (AHFP). Prior to entering the forensic field, Ellen planned and conducted experiments for a major bicycle manufacturer. She also conducted laser strike perception studies for the Department of Defense. Ellen applies her experience in Human Factors to the analysis of crash investigations and other personal injury matters. These matters often include collisions involving vulnerable road users and drivers, driver distraction, and slips, trips, and falls. She utilizes her knowledge of OSHA regulations, codes, and standards in her analysis of premises liability incidents and safety consulting. Ellen is a current member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and it’s Forensic Professional Technical Group.
According to the CDC, nearly 70% of all playground injuries are caused by falls to the ground. This makes the choice and maintenance of surfacing materials one of the most important factors in preventing playground injuries. All playground surfacing material has a Critical Fall Height (CFH) that determines how much impact it can safely absorb. The Critical Fall Height is the safety threshold for playground surfacing and must always be equal to or greater than the surrounding playground equipment’s actual fall height to be considered safe. For example, Read More
This article is based on my experience investigating and analyzing slip-and-fall incidents involving pedestrian walking surfaces. One type of slip and fall incident involves slipping on wet floor surfaces shortly after entering a building or stepping onto hard-surface flooring.
Common flooring materials involved include polished concrete, vinyl composite tile, porcelain tile, and wood flooring. These surfaces are generally safe when dry but present increased slip risk when contaminated. Matting is often used as a method to minimize the slip risk but is frequently ineffective because of improper usage. Read More
Slip and falls occur when there is an unexpected loss of traction between a person’s foot and the walking surface, causing them to lose balance and fall. This type of injury is common and can occur in any setting where people walk, including homes, workplaces, and public areas. Slips can result in serious injuries, particularly for older adults.
The human gait cycle consists of four phases: the Read More
“Was a dark stormy night as the train rattled on…” Anybody? 1985? Scarecrow? Come on… this was when Cougar was still a Mellencamp! Ok… it was called Grandma’s Theme… you’ll have to look that one up… but as I sat down to write this blog on the environment, that song kept running though my head. If you look it up, it will have a similar effect… just a little warning.
In our last installment of the 9-Cell Collision Matrix let’s travel down the wet, slippery slope of environmental factors that can contribute to car crashes, and maybe take a closer look at the things around us, at or near our crash scene that may reveal some important clues. Read More
Play is an essential part of childhood development as children learn through play. Public playgrounds provide an environment for children to develop physical, behavioral, and cognitive skills. Though an essential aspect of childhood development, public play areas can also provide an opportunity for serious injuries and fatalities. In 2020, 120,829 children sustained serious injuries Read More
Visibility aids, such as lighting, reflectors, and fluorescent material, are marketed to vulnerable road users (VRUs) like pedestrians and bicyclists as a way to enhance their safety on the road. These visibility aids increase the VRU’s contrast within the roadway environment therefore increasing their visibility. However, increasing visibility does not necessarily mean enhancing conspicuity. For example, the key difference between a visible pedestrian and a conspicuous pedestrian is that a visible pedestrian is distinguishable from their background whereas a conspicuous pedestrian “grabs” the driver’s visual attention. Read More
Murder, suicide, deceit, and intrigue… car crashes? You bet! In our next installment of the 9-Cell Collision Matrix let us dive a little deeper into the glue that binds all this together, the human element.
Photo by Mark Turner
Let’s begin with the most basic human element at the root cause of car wrecks, our old friend inattention. Inattention… a vast word that encompasses many lackadaisical conditions. The daydreaming 16-year-old in math class, the radio knob turner, the back seat talker, the quarter pounder with cheese eater, and perhaps the most offensive, the cell phone user. All very dangerous behind the wheel, and one very dangerous to your future… as it turns out, you will always need good math skills… ask me how I know? Driving is of course a divided attention endeavor, Read More
There are various visibility aids marketed for vulnerable road users (VRUs). Here, the term VRU is used to describe unprotected road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. Visibility aids are designed to increase a VRU’s contrast within their environment, making them more distinguishable from the background to a driver. These visibility aids can include both active and passive ways to increase the VRU’s contrast, therefore their visibility. As the name implies, active visibility aids actively transmit light and are powered by a source (i.e., battery powered bicycle headlights and taillights) while passive visibility aids passively reflect light coming from outside sources (i.e., fluorescent, and retroreflective clothing).
There are a wide variety of active visibility aids to choose from on the market. For example, Read More
