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Recess head injury at Sault school results in $100K settlement

'The edges were sharp and the tops became very slippery when wet': Algoma District School Board says play structure at centre of lawsuit no longer exists at any of its schools
Kenneth Armstrong
Kenneth Armstrong
20160328-algoma-district-school-board-sign-and-building-ka-0 (2)
The Algoma District School Board building seen in this file photo.Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A playground injury at a Sault Ste. Marie elementary school that occurred almost 10 years ago has resulted in a $100,000 settlement paid to the complainant by Algoma District School Board.

The incident happened when a child, then five years old, hit their head on a wooden play structure, causing a three centimetre deep laceration on the middle of their forehead and a trip to Sault Area Hospital by ambulance.

Because the complainant was a child at the time, SooToday is not naming the person, the date of the incident or identifying the school at which the injury took place in order to protect their privacy.

According to an affidavit filed in court by the complainant's lawyer, Jeffrey Broadbent, the play structure consisted of a number of upright logs anchored into the ground and arranged in a circular pattern. Children were permitted to play on and around the logs. The injury occurred during a scheduled recess.

"Though the students were encouraged to use the equipment, they weren't provided instruction or supervision as to how it safely should be used," Broadbent wrote in the affidavit. "The edges were sharp and the tops became very slippery when wet." 

Reached by phone on Thursday, Joe Santa Maria, ADSB's associate director of corporate services and operations, told SooToday that the play structure was removed from the elementary school shortly after the injury and none of the board's other schools are currently equipped with a similar structure.

The complainant was treated hospital at the time of the injury and exhibited symptoms during follow-up doctor visits in the months after the injury. As of now, the complainant is said to have fully recovered from the injury, aside from some scarring.

Broadbent negotiated a $100,000 settlement, minus fees and taxes. Paid by the board's insurance company, the structured settlement will begin when the complainant is 20 years of age with a lump sum, as well as monthly and yearly payments for up to three years.