The Day of the Accident
On June 11th 2007 Approximately twenty students 11-13 years old participating in the game had been instructed to throw the ball at members of the opposing team to get them “out”. A teacher provided two rubber coated volleyballs for use in the game, though the school also had lightweight foam dodgeball balls which some teachers used for dodgeball. Our 14 year old plaintiff was struck in the head with a volleyball during the dodgeball game.
Damages
As a result of being struck with the hard volleyball, plaintiff suffered catastrophic brain injuries requiring lifetime 24 hour LVN level care. He will now need 24 hour in-home LVN level of care for the rest of his life. The plaintiff is now functionally unemployable not only because he scores in the one percentile category in areas important for employment, but also because of his aphasia, impulsive and inappropriate behavior problems, and need for administration of medication on an “as needed” basis.
These injuries occurred because of the lack of policies and inadequate supervision. The supervisor for the game testified she not only had no idea what dodgeball equipment, supervision, or rules other schools in the district used for dodgeball, but also that she had no idea what rules, guidelines, etc. teachers in her own school used.
Settlement
In this case the plaintiff took the settlement offer of $22 million.