Parents Blame Equipment For Rash Of Injuries At Brooklyn Playground
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Several children have suffered broken bones at a Brooklyn playground and parents say faulty equipment is to blame.
The oodle swing is now missing from Slope Park in Brooklyn, CBS 2's Vanessa Murdock reported.
The swing was removed after at least eight children broke bones while playing on it. One of those children was Lucinda Doogan, 11, who broke two bones in her leg, spent six weeks in a cast, and is still walking on crutches.
"When we went back there was clearance but when it went forward my leg got stuck," Doogan said.
Lucinda's mother Debra was horrified.
"I was almost in tears. I was trying to be strong for her but I was really upset that my daughter was so badly hurt," she said.
Three other children suffered broken legs that day. Parents blamed the injuries on a swing that was set too low and easily snagged little legs.
"It was extremely low to the ground. I couldn't believe it was in a park open to the public," one parent said.
A picture of the swing shows that it appears to sit lower than the one foot clearance that installation specs called for.
Robert Kelner, of Kelner & Kelner, represents four families whose children were apparently injured on the swing. They are suing the manufacturer and the city.
"There are many children that will have a lifetime of problems because they didn't pay attention to what they were doing in that park," Kelner said.
Doogan said that it took the city two months after the first injury to remove the swing. The Parks Department said that it will replace the oodle swing with a net climber.
Officials would not comment on the lawsuit.
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