A Rockaway girl was allegedly 'disfigured' after gym class injury. Now her family is suing
A former Rockaway Township middle schooler who suffered serious injuries after two strikes to the face with a hockey stick in gym class has been left with permanent scars, the girl's family claims in a lawsuit filed against the district.
The Copeland Middle School student required immediate surgical and dental intervention following the Jan. 17, 2023 injury, which could have been prevented had the school's board of education and district officials not been "careless and reckless" and instead taken proper actions or omissions to ensure the girl's safety, according to the complaint, filed on May 16 in Morris County Superior Court.
The girl, who now attends Morris Knolls High School, was "violently" struck twice in the face and mouth area with the hockey stick during the physical education class activity, where students were not provided and/or required to wear protective equipment, the family's attorney, Anthony Accardi said in the suit. The playing area where the activity took place at Copeland, he added, was also "undersized" for the number of students participating. While it occurred during gym class, it was not immediately clear if students were in the school's gymnasium.
The family is seeking unspecified monetary damages for the girl's medical bills for facial injuries that has left the now-high school student "disabled and disfigured," according to the suit. Enduring mental anguish and emotional distress are symptoms that she suffers and will continue to plague her in the foreseeable future, the family said.
The Rockaway Township Board of Education and Copeland Middle School, which enrolls students in sixth through eighth grade, are named in the suit, as well as the physical education teacher overseeing the class and several unnamed individuals. The district's board is comprised of seven members who ensure the effective operation of seven schools in the township of roughly 26,000 residents: six elementary schools and one middle school.
Rockaway Township School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Corbett declined to comment on the allegations, but said that student safety is "always the district's priority." Tanya Shields, the district's board president, did not respond to a request seeking comment. The district was served with the lawsuit on Wednesday.
The lawsuit points to several failures by the school board and district staff, including the lack of supervision by the gym teacher tasked with overseeing the class. The students were also insufficiently supervised during the class and not given proper instruction as to activity itself, the rules and the risks involved, the suit states. The skills and abilities of the students were also allegedly not considered prior to the activity taking place.
The school was notified in December of the family's intent to sue under the New Jersey Tort Claim Act, the state statute implemented to afford heightened protection to public entities against lawsuits. The statute offers six months to the public entity, in this case the school district, to conduct an investigation and determine if they would like to settle the matter with the claimant before a lawsuit is filed.
Lori Comstock can also be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Rockaway NJ family sues school after gym class injury
