Mother says Pájara Town Council has refused to compensate her son after he broke his femur in a Morro Jable playground

Paola Jaraba, a mother from Morro Jable, has publicly criticised the response she received after seeking compensation for an accident involving her son, who was just two years and eight months old, at a playground in the town’s main square, in the municipality of Pájara.

According to her account, the child suffered a broken femur and had to be taken to Fuerteventura Hospital, where he spent three nights and underwent surgery. Medical staff fitted a splint from his hip to his left foot to keep his leg immobilised.

The mother says the playground was not in a suitable condition when the accident happened and says the facilities were closed and repaired after she filed her complaint. However, she says that two and a half years later, despite submitting documents and medical reports, her claim has not received a favourable response.

One point she particularly questions is that the location of the accident has been called into doubt because she did not ask the Local Police to attend at the time.

“I knew absolutely nothing about the procedure to follow in these cases, and I took my son straight to A&E,” she explains.

Jaraba says that, despite having a witness to what happened, the response she received places particular emphasis on the lack of police attendance to verify the incident at the playground.

She also criticises the attention given to the time it took to file the complaint: according to her account, it was submitted four days after the accident, while the decision refers to five days.

She says she was occupied with her son’s hospital stay and surgery during that period. She finds it incomprehensible that this could undermine the credibility of her claim.

“It’s no longer about the money; it’s the lack of morals, humanity and consideration”

The mother says the arguments set out in the decision on her claim do not take sufficient account of the accident’s physical and psychological effects.

She says the reference to there having been no further accidents since then is particularly painful.

“But if there’s one point where I feel they’re laughing at my son and me, it’s when they say that since my son had that unfortunate accident, they tell me there haven’t been any others,” she says.

Jaraba is grateful that there have been no further serious incidents, but believes this should not be used to play down what happened.

“It’s no longer about the money; it’s the lack of morals, humanity and consideration,” she says.

She also questions the condition of the municipal facilities. She says the playground was closed and repaired after her complaint, although she maintains that it is now showing defects again.

A warning to other families

After two and a half years of pursuing the matter, Jaraba has decided to make her experience public to warn other families about the difficulties she says she has encountered during the process.

In her written account, she advises people to document accidents and ask for the police to attend so that the location can be recorded. Her account also makes clear that, given the severity of her son’s injuries, she prioritised getting him medical care.

The mother ends by calling for greater attention to the maintenance of playgrounds in Morro Jable and asking other families to share their experiences to help prevent similar situations.