On November 17, 2005, Plaintiff, just 7 years old at the time, was playing on the playground at Enrico Fermi School for the Performing Arts in Yonkers when his foot got caught in a raised seam of a torn and poorly maintained carpeting, that covered the playground surface. The fall caused multiple severe injuries to his right leg and hip including a right femur and subtrochanteric fracture of the right hip with overriding and angulations of the bone fragment involving the postural shaft of the right femur.
Despite undergoing several painful surgeries such as external fixation, open reduction, and eventual growth plate removal, Kristopher was left with permanent scarring, which were visible when he wore shorts, and leg length issues.
Evidence revealed that the carpet seams had been splitting for nearly a year prior to the accident. Despite being warned by the installer that a rubberized surface was safer and that repairs were needed before installation to protect the children, the owners and operators of the facility ignored this advice and proceeded with the carpet installation. In turn, their negligence
created a dangerous environment for young children. Through strategic litigation, we proved that the owners and operators of the facility were fully responsible for Kristopher’s injuries. After jury selection, the matter was settled for the sum of in the mid six figures. We believe that this was a substantial recovery for an injury, which had no permanency other than a scar which had substantially faded and which, was covered by clothing.
