PERSONAL INJURY SUSTAINED BY STUDENT IN SCHOOL ACCIDENT

The Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a school district in a personal injury claim brought by the parents of a high school student.  The plaintiffs commenced suit against the school district when their daughter, a high school cheerleader, fell while performing a cheerleading stunt which she had performed numerous times in the past. The school district’s defense was two-fold: first it argued assumption of risk, meaning that the student assumed the risk of injury by voluntarily engaging in the activity of cheerleading with knowledge of its inherent risks. The school also defended the claim on the grounds that it properly supervised the cheerleading activities. The Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, granted the school district’s motion and dismissed the complaint in Testa v. East Meadow Union Free School District, decided February 28, 2012.

Every school has a legal duty to adequately supervise the activities of students under its care. However the law does not make schools the insurer of the safety of its students. The adequacy of a school’s supervision of its students is generally a question left to the jury deciding the case. The negligence standard is whether the school exercised the same care over its students as a parent would provide for his or her own child in similar circumstances. The age of the child is obviously an important factor as younger children require constant and close supervision. The potential danger of personal injury is also a critical factor.