Partial settlement from injuries in slide accident at District 300 school
A lawsuit filed by two students against Community Unit District 300 for injuries suffered after an inflatable slide tipped over in May 2013 at an Algonquin elementary school event has been partially settled.
One girl received $75,000, and another injured girl still seeks damages from a rental company and the school's PTO as her condition has worsened, according to her attorney.
"The whole thing could have been averted," attorney Jeffrey Martin said. "Now, you have a little girl diagnosed with a condition she'll have the rest of her life causing her chronic pain."
Martin filed a lawsuit in 2014 on behalf of two fifth-grade girls, one who broke her wrist and injured her ankle when an inflatable slide tipped over during an end-of-the-year picnic, and the other who fell and sustained a concussion and other injuries.
The concussed girl received $75,000 from the district, the Algonquin Lakes Elementary School PTO and Ed's Rentals, in a May 2016 settlement, Martin said.
The school board in March 2017 approved a $25,000 settlement for the girl with the injured ankle and wrist. She and her family now live in Florida.
Martin said the girl, now 14, has been diagnosed with a neuropathic pain condition and complex regional pain syndrome that makes it painful to walk and which will require long-term care.
"The ankle injury has not healed. She has trouble walking," Martin said.
The lawsuit is still active against the PTO and Ed's Rental company; Martin said discovery documents show the inflatable slide should have been weighed down with sandbags when it was moved into the gymnasium, but neither the rental company nor PTO acted to secure it and are in turn pointing fingers at each other.
Attorneys for the rental company could not be reached for comment, but have argued in court documents that the agreement with the PTO contained an indemnification clause and it was the PTO's responsibility to ensure safety.
A message left with Anne Shaw, attorney for the PTO, was not returned.
The case is next due in court on Oct. 17 and seeks unspecified damages.
At the time, school officials said six students went to area hospitals and 11 were treated and released to their parents after being injured.