On the 21st of March 2014 a child suffered an injury to her fingers as a result of trapping them in a door at an open access play service run by Hackney Play Association.

Hackney Play Association has successfully contested a claim for injury to fingers (trapped in door) during an open access play session, on the basis of Risk-Benefit Assessment, Nicola Butler, Chair of Hackney Play Association reports on the Play Safety Forum website that the case has been closed as the claimant has withdrawn their claim:

During the legal correspondence a number of issues were raised, in which we had to argue our case based on RBA. These included:

• Whether our staff should have allowed the children to play a game that the children had made up themselves, which the children called ‘Scare Chase’
• Whether our staff ratio and supervision of the children was adequate.

We argued that the answers to both of these questions was ‘yes’ based on Risk-Benefit Assessment, playwork training and the Playwork Principles.

When we provided the copy of Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide, and explained that this was the national guidance for play providers endorsed by a wide range of key stakeholders, including the Health & Safety Executive, this proved pivotal in persuading our insurers (Zurich) to contest the claim (and not to settle out of court).

We were also able to evidence that our policies, procedures and staff training were based on Risk-Benefit Assessment

For the full article go to the Play Safety Forum website.