In the case of a student suing her high school softball coach, Brown, for not properly teaching her how to slide, Alina Cerda, 15, is also suing the city. She claims that Brown's poor lesson resulted in her breaking her ankle while sliding in the mud.
Could this become a slip and fall case? This would be a tricky one to prove since the entire purpose of a slide is to fall. Plus, if the city is found at fault for a slip and fall, then would the coach would be completely off the hook since no amount of training would have made a difference?
Since it has not been specified yet, we can only guess. The most likely reason that the city is involved is because of the condition of the field.
Having mud in the path that the runners have to take is a hazard: Just as much as it would be a danger to have slippery sidewalks. Is the city held responsible for the maintenance of its public areas?
But was the problem fixable? If there is an ice storm, would the city be at fault for you walking out and falling before the salt could be distributed? If there was rain that day or the day before, would the groundskeepers be held responsible? In such a big city, it would be ridiculous to assume that they can handle every imperfection caused by the weather on a moment's notice.
It would be hard to prove that the city was negligent because it's not like the grass was so high it was choking people or there were alligators in the outfield. Mud is created quickly, not from weeks of neglect. Unless they canceled a scheduled appointment for the field's maintenance or failed to ever have the field maintained, it might be difficult to find the city at fault.
Related Resources:
- Who Might Be Responsible for Negligence? (FindLaw)
- Special Rules: Injury Claims Against the Government (FindLaw)
- New York injury lawyer (FindLaw)
ShareThis
