On November 17, 2005, the plaintiff, a young child, suffered severe injuries to his right leg after falling on a school playground. These injuries, which included a fracture of the right femur and subtrochanteric fracture of the right hip, required several operations and left the child with permanent scarring.
Following his injuries, the plaintiff’s mother filed suit against the school’s owner, the school’s operator and the company that installed the carpeting on the playground equipment, alleging that the plaintiff tripped when one of his feet became caught in a seam of the carpet that covered the playground’s surface. The plaintiff raised several claims, including that the carpet was not properly installed and that its seams had begun splitting some 12 months before the accident and the school’s owner and operator ignored the condition. The plaintiff further alleged that the company that installed the carpet had advised the remaining defendants that a rubberized surface was preferable to carpet and that the playground’s underlying concrete surface would have to be repaired prior to the installation of a carpet to prevent separation of the carpet’s seams – but they ignored the advice and simply opted to install carpet.
The court determined during summary judgment that the school’s owner and operator, and not the carpet installation company, were liable for the accident, and the parties reached a trial settlement of $350,000 for the victim.
