Jury Fines Homeowners Association $20 Million: Our Attorneys Discuss Lessons Learned
Jury Fines Homeowners Association $20 Million: Our Attorneys Discuss Lessons Learned Jun 1, 2018 A lawsuit that concluded this spring highlights an important potential liability for homeowners associations around the country: playgrounds. One homeowners’ association in particular was hit with a $20 million jury award after a teenager was injured on the property’s playground. Reportedly, the 42-pound crossbar of the swing set fell on the boy sitting on the swing set due to corrosion at the connection points, causing him serious injuries. Reportedly, not only had the homeowners association previously experienced three swing set failures on this playground, but they also did not arrange for any inspections or regular maintenance. Unfortunately, the homeowners association only had $2 million in liability insurance coverage, and $10 million out of the total $20 million award was entirely attributed to punitive damages. Previous Incidents plus Failure to Maintain Equals Trouble Many lessons can be learned from this case when it comes to homeowners associations and common areas, including recreation equipment. In this case, two factors in particular worked against the homeowners association: Not only had there been previous injury incidents (indicating that the association was put on warning that the playground had safety issues), but failing to arrange for periodic inspections can also sometimes be used to argue that an association has been negligent with accidents like these. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Public Playground Safety Handbook In Florida, as in other states, playgrounds must comply with the requirements set forth by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This states that equipment should be thoroughly inspected frequently by someone who is qualified to inspect playgrounds for safety in order to prevent injuries that may result from wear and tear on the equipment. Routine inspection and maintenance issues include checking to see if there is broken equipment, loose bolts, cracks, broken glass anywhere, cracks in any plastic, displaced loose-fill surfacing, hazardous debris, holes, insect damage, loose anchoring, surfacing problems, rust, rot, user modification, vandalism, worn or missing parts, and/or wood splitting. Florida Attorneys Committed To Helping Homeowners Associations If an association is aware that something might be a liability and fails to act, it could be found responsible for any subsequent injuries. If you run a homeowners association and are concerned about liability issues like these, contact one of our homeowners’ association attorneys today to find out how we can help. By ensuring that you are acting with reasonable diligence, you can successfully avoid liability for others’ accidents. Your HD Law attorney can help you draft safety rules and disclosures in order to avoid any misuse and help ensure that you provide reasonable weight limits, hour limitations, age-related rules, etc.–whatever is necessary to comply with housing laws. We serve clients in Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa, and surrounding areas. Resources: sandiegouniontribune.com/business/economy/sd-fi-hoa-31-story.html cpsc.gov/PageFiles/122149/325.pdf Tags: Florida Homeowners Association Attorney, Florida Homeowners Association Attorneys, Florida Homeowners Associations Posted in Homeowners Association | No Comments » Connect with us Archives May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 January 2025 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 November 13 Categories Alimony Appellate Arbitration Auto Accidents Auto Insurance Business Corporate Business Insurance Law Child Custody Child Support Criminal Law Divorce Family Law FEMA Insurance Payments Florida’s Mandatory 2‑Hour Legal Professionalism CLE: Foreclosure Defense Fort Myers Hurricane Insurance Attorney General Guardianship HD Law Partners Service HOA/Property Management Homeowners Association Homeowners Insurance Hurricane Claims Hurricane Insurance Insurance Bad Faith Insurance Claims Insurance Defense Insurance Litigation Landlord Tenant Law Enforcement Liability Loan Modifications Mold Water Damage Parental Rights Paternity Personal Injury Premises Liability Law Prenuptial Agreements Private Security Property Distribution Property Owner Law Sarasota Insurance Litigation Attorney Slip Fall Tampa Business and Corporate Attorneys tampa family attorney Tampa Insurance Attorneys Timeshare Timesharing Uncategorized HD Law Partners is proud to be your trusted full-service law firm Quick Links Property & Casualty Business & Corporate Litigation Family Law Contact Us Careers Get In Touch 2002 North Lois Avenue Suite 510 Tampa, FL 33607 813-253-5333 Contact Us