Uh-oh: “A Contra Costa County school district’s use of wood chips in play boxes makes it harder for boys and girls in wheelchairs to get to swings and slides, a violation of the disabled children’s rights, a federal judge has ruled.” Rubberized mats, the main alternative, are eight times as expensive, according to a lawyer for the district in Northern California. According to playground designer Susan Goltsman, “wood chips are more yielding and may cushion falls better”, aside from which employing a variety of ground materials is helpful in keeping playgrounds interesting to kids. (Bob Egelko, “Wood chips ruled unfriendly to disabled kids”, San Francisco Chronicle, May 5).
Chronicling the high cost of our legal system
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- The price of New York ethics, cont'd
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- Cato brief in McDonald v. ChicagoAvailable here. An outstanding brief, as one might expect. The bulk of the brief (21 pages, comprising Part I) shows that from the Founding Era into through the framing of the Fourteenth Amendment, national citizenship was paramount to state citizenship. Part II briefly argues that Slaughterhouse violated canons of constitutional construction–such as by in […]David Kopel
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- Puffery PlaintiffsThe NYT reports that more companies are challenging claims made in competitors’ ads. Companies that were once content to fight in grocery-store aisles and on television commercials are now choosing a different route — filing lawsuits and other formal grievances challenging their competitors’ claims. Longtime foes like Pantene and Dove, Science Diet and […]Jonathan H. Adler
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- Cato brief in McDonald v. Chicago
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{ 9 comments }
How exactly is a kid in a wheelchair supposed to use a slide anyway? As far as I remember, they have difficulty with ladders as well as wood chips.
Let’s see ADA specifies a 6% slope for all wheelchair ramps. For a slide that is 6 ft tall you need a 100 ft ramp. So odds are that the sliding board is going to become an endangered species.
Yet another reason for schools to remove playgrounds and add to the obesity ‘epidemic’. Thus giving lawyers another thing to sue over.
Meh. When I was a kid, our playground equipment was on cement, and we liked it. Only broke my arm once out there…
My kids aren’t terribly excited about risk-free playgrounds. (If we are lucky we find the old fun playgrounds with rusty merry go rounds.) Nine times out of ten they choose to climb the trees next to the playground. If they ever slip and fall I’ll be sure to sue on the basis that trees in a park are an attractive nuisance.
MHoc: No, sue on the theory that if they’d designed more interesting playgrounds your kids wouldn’t have been forced to use the trees instead.
Now we need someone whose child has a latex allergy to sue someone with the rubberized surface on their playground. It’s discrimination against someone with a disability!
Sorry ArtK. Most playground equipment is covered with vinyl not rubber. My nephew has the latex allergy and doesn’t have a problem with playground equipment…….when we can find it.
Nice one, Peter – I was just about to write something like that when I read your post!
Anyone know if they still even have see-saws anymore? I guess I don’t get out much to playgrounds, but just wondering if someone here could fill me in. Was it a fat kid (scuse me, hefty kid) thing, where it’s bad for their self-esteems? Or is it bad for the small kids who take the chance of going flying when paired with the fat, damn! hefty kids? Are lawyers going to take any and all fun out of this world?
(Don’t answer the last one, too depressing)
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