Freedom of Information request re rink playground injuries Nov 5, 2007

Please note:

We’ve listed our questions in bold below. To avoid duplication or any unnecessary work, I’ve noted any information we have already received in our earlier inquiries in square brackets below each question.

A. RINK INJURIES:

1) How many claims have been filed against the City for injuries suffered on City rinks?
[Since amalagamation, there have been somewhere between five to ten rink-related injury claims.]

1a) Please list the public court file numbers for each of these claims.

2) How many of these injuries have occurred at outdoor rinks? At indoor rinks?

3) What has been the exact nature of the injuries that have occurred? E.g. fracture, sprain, etc.

[There may have been some fractures involved in these incidents, but no severe injuries on any of ice rinks.]

4) '''What kinds of claims have resulted from each:
- on what grounds have people sued the City (e.g. negligence)?
- for what amounts of money?
- have people sought any remedies other than financial compensation?

[There have been no “big claims” arising out of any of these incidents, e.g. larger than $ 20,000 - $ 30,000.]

5) How many of these claims have been settled out-of-court? 6) For what amount?

[Ballpark estimate of $ 10 – 20,000]

7) How many, if any, of these claims are still in the courts?

8) We understand that none of these claims involved the wearing (or not wearing) of helmets? Please confirm.

B. PLAYGROUND INJURIES

1) Since 2000, how many playground injuries have resulted in claims against the City?

[Very few - similar in frequency to rink related injuries. They have been mostly swing-related accidents which involved trouble with the S hooks.]

1a) Please list the public court file numbers for each of these claims.

2) Where in the playgrounds have these injuries occurred? Have these claims involved pieces of equipment other than swings and a cable stretch?

3) What has been the exact nature of the injuries that have occurred? E.g. fracture, sprain, etc.

[Mostly minor]

4) What kinds of claims have resulted from each?
- on what grounds have people sued the City (e.g. negligence)?
- for what amount of money?
- have people sought any other remedies other than financial compensation?

[1 or 2 claims for nominal amounts]

5) How many claims have been settled out-of-court? 6) For what amount have each of these playground related claims been settled ?

[Aside from those one or two cases above, there has been only one more costly settlement involving a heavy adult who slid across a 10 foot long cable stretch in a playground. The cable got caught on the track and the adult fell down and hurt her back. The equipment was fairly new; issues of inspections and signage came into play. The City ended up settling this for a more substantial sum, estimated at between $10,000 - $100,000.]

7) Are any of these matters still in the courts?

[there are fewer than 5 claims still open and being litigated.]