A lawsuit is in the works for the toddler whose feet were scalded at the Safari Playground (Central Park West and 91st Street) on June 20.
Lisa Monroig, the mother of the toddler (Luke), has retained the council of McCabe Coleman Ventosa & Patterson PLLC, and has filed a notice of claim citing that that the NYC Department of Parks and Recreations, along with affiliates, were “grossly negligent, and reckless, in the design, construction, installation, repair, maintenance, inspection, and supervision of the Safari Playground thereby causing a two-year [old] child, to sustain serious, severe and, upon information and belief, permanent physical and emotional injuries…”
The claim states that Luke’s feet were burned at a site where a tree once stood before being removed in the summer of 2020, and that the area was patched up and is about 60 feet from the playground’s sprinklers. The claim also states that a “fix job” was done in a flawed manner and has caused hazardous and unsafe conditions.
Luke’s burned foot
“If they are going to open a playground, especially for preschool children, they need to make it as safe as possible and follow accepted national and international standards, which they did not,” said Gershon Abramoff, the lawyer representing the family.
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The lawyer explained that the city must have known that the area gets very hot, as there was once a tree present to create a shaded environment. The legal team stated that one reading they took on the surface temperature was 180 degrees.
The Central Park Conservancy rebuilt Safari playground in 2019, “a project that included casting new versions of the hippo sculptures and designing new features including play mounds and an interactive water feature.”
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Another mom contacted I Love The Upper West Side to tell us the same thing happened to her toddler daughter just days before Luke’s incident. She said that while June 20 was a very hot day, her child’s feet were severely burned at Safari Playground when the temperature outside was only about 75 degrees. “My daughter was burned just days before, and it was odd,” she told us. “It was only 75 degrees outside and breezy. How could it be? When our pediatrician saw our child’s feet she said it almost looked like a chemical burn. Everyone was shocked that a playground surface could do this.” She was told that her child’s burns were so severe it would have warranted a hospital stay. The family has been working with a plastic surgeon who has been able to help with the healing process.
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Gershon has vowed to find out why Luke’s incident took place, and says his client is focused on her son’s healing, and wanted to publicly thank all the doctors and nurses who’ve helped in his recovery.
“Luke has always loved Central Park and I hope that the authorities will do what needs to be done so that what happened to Luke will never happen to any other child,” said Lisa.
In a statement sent to Pix 11, the Parks Department wrote that “We want all parkgoers to enjoy our parks and playgrounds this summer, and we urge families to stay safe in the sun on hot days — make sure kids always wear proper footwear, use sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.”
We’ve reached out to the Central Park Conservancy and to the NY Parks Department for additional comment.
I hope these parents lose. Very sleazy behavior, to let your kid walk around barefoot on a steaming hot day, and then act surprised when they burn their feet on dark surfaces, and follow up with a lawsuit. Poor kid, and I’m not talking about the burned feet.
I agree 100%. My kids never ran around on playgrounds with bare feet on super-hot days.
There is a sign on the entrance gate to the playground warning that surfaces can get hot and to take precautions to exposed skin…..but I guess we have to handhold and somehow to tell this differently to this newer generation of parents….
While I clearly feel for the child…it was definitely the fault of the parent for letting their child walk around without any footwear on a warm day. Even the plastic decking I have outside at my apartment gets hot to walk in my bare feet when the sun is shining and the temp is much cooler that 90…..it seems logical that any concrete or hard surface would do the same when the temps are close to 90…..
Why does everything have to be a lawsuit nowadays?
I knew, before finishing the first article on this incident, there was a lawsuit in the wings. Sue, if you think it’s justified, and please donate the money to a good cause, preferably one which helps children in need.
Luckily, this didn’t occur in Phoenix — young Luke might have been burned to a crisp.
Then again, in Phoenix perhaps Lisa would have understood that things out in the sun can get hot.
I wish Luke a speedy and complete recovery, and Lisa a physics education.
Having first hand knowledge of the product and NYC Parks Dept., the parents need to be held accountable. The rubber surfacing is an urban market product that is to prevent serious head injuries. Any sensible person should know that most surfaces will get hot in direct sunlight. Secondly, the Parks Dept. posts signage that footwear is required (hot surfaces/sharp debris). There is really no other type of protective surfacing out there in the market that checks as many boxes as the product utilized. I feel for the child but these neglectful parents need to be held responsible for their lack of supervision. Shame on them.
Who would let their kid walk around barefoot on a NYC playground? This sounds more like an issue for Child Protective Services than the courts.
Neglect sounds to be on the part of the parent not watching their offspring.
I have to agree with the other posters here. Accidents happen – especially when you don’t follow the rules posted by the parks department. Sorry for the kid, but the parents have to take responsibility for their bad judgement I hope they lose their suit.
I agree with all the above commenters! Such a litigious culture we have here in the U.S. — we cannot take responsibility for our own (sometimes bad) decisions we make for ourselves and our children. So if there was no rubber protection, this woman would probably sue if her child fell and got a concussion on the same playground. Shameful!
I can’t believe they let their kids run around a playground barefoot on such a hot day. I never would have done it with my kids. Parents who do the are irresponsible but leave it to them to sue for their terrible mistakes.
Why can’t people admit both sides share fault. A court will likely hold the parents responsible for not ensuring their child was wearing footwear on a hot surface, but a surface in a playground should be be able to get hot enough to cause second degree burns in seconds! Even putting aside the shoes, what if a child tripped and just burned their hands?
This is the only thing that I’ve been thinking about in regards to the hot surface. Yes, letting her child walk around without shoes boggles my mind and to sue for that seems insane. But kids trip and fall all the time, and with a sprinkler nearby, they could even be shirtless. If it’s not safe for skin to touch, it’s not safe for kids to be on. I grew up with a gravel playground – a few scrapes and cuts are significantly better than 2nd degree burns.
CPS needs to get involved if the parents are this stupid.
And what international standards are there for playgrounds? The lawyers are just a bunch of ambulance chasers.
An excellent remedy for burns is clay. Make a mud poultice with clay (available online) and wrap the kid’s feet with it. The pain will disappear on contact and the new skin will form faster than with any other remedy. Cheap too!