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School ignored gymnasium’s slippery mats, visitor alleged
3/30/2009
Teresa A. & Thomas Doherty v. Smithtown
C.S.D., No. 2620/04
Settlement: $400,000
Court: Suffolk Supreme
Judge: Arthur G. Pitts
Plaintiff Attorney(s):
Glenn Auletta, Gruenberg & Kelly, P.C., Ronkonkoma, NY
Defense Attorney(s):
Maureen Casey, Ahmuty, Demers & McManus, Albertson, NY
Facts & Allegations:
On Jan. 17, 2003, plaintiffTeresaDoherty,
44, a homemaker, slipped in the gymnasiumof SmithtownMiddle
School, which is located at 100 School Road, in Smithtown. She
fell, and she sustained injuries of her back.
Doherty sued the school’s operator, the Smithtown Central School District. She alleged that the school’s staff was negligent in its maintenance of the premises. She further alleged that the staff’s negligence created a dangerous condition.
Doherty claimed that she slipped on water that had been tracked onto one of the “walk-off”mats that had been placed near the gymnasium’s entrance. She contended that snow had fallen several days prior to the incident and that light drizzle and/or sleet were falling at the time of the incident, which occurred while the gymnasium was hosting an after-school basketball game.
Doherty’s counsel claimed that the school had not assigned a janitor to patrol the gymnasium, despite the fact that a total of about 300 people had attended the basketball game and another sporting event that the school hosted that day.He contended that the school’s maintenance staff was aware that the mats became saturated by condensation and that they were hazardous. He claimed that 13 janitors were working at the time of the incident, but that none was directed to address the hazard.
The school’s lead janitor acknowledged that he cared more about completing his janitorial assignments than the safety of the school’s visitors, and, in a prior cost-benefit analysis, the school had concluded that it would not have cost anything to reroute a janitor to the gymnasium during after-school events.
Defense counsel contended that Doherty’s fall occurred near a door that could only be used to exit the building; thus, water could not have been tracked in from the outside. She argued that the school’s staff acted reasonably by placing the mats near the doors, but that Doherty negligently failed to notice the slippery condition. She also noted that Doherty’s fall occurred sometime around the beginning of the basketball game, but that Doherty’s husband, who also attended the basketball game, did not report the incident until halftime of the game. Defense counsel further contended that the school’s staff did not have notice of the condition.
Injuries/Damages:
diskectomy; fracture, coccyx; fusion, lumbar;
herniated disc at L4-5; internal fixation
The trial was bifurcated, so damages were not before the court.
Doherty sustained a fracture of her coccyx and a herniation of her L4-5 intervertebral disc. Her herniation was addressed via surgery that included a diskectomy, which is the excision of a disc, fusion of the associated area of her spine, and the application of internal fixation.
Doherty claimed that she suffers residual limitations of her back. She sought recovery of damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Her husband presented a derivative claim.
Result:
The jury found that the school district was liable for the
accident, but Ms. Doherty was assigned 25-percent comparative
negligence. Prior to the scheduled start of the trial’s damages
phase, the parties negotiated a $400,000 settlement.