Jose de Wit
SUN Staff Report
The parents of a student who fell off Fairview Elementary’s playground equipment and broke his elbow two years ago are now suing the Española School District.
In their complaint, Ruth and John Naranjo accuse the District of negligence for allowing young students to play on dangerous playground equipment. Their son, then-kindergarten student Christopher Naranjo, was 5 at the time of his fall.
“The playground equipment was dangerous to very young children because it invited children to climb up to a platform and then jump off and catch onto rings at a height and in a configuration dangerous to kindergarten-age children,” the complaint states.
The incident took place during the school day on Aug. 24, 2006, the complaint states.
The Naranjos argue the District should have known the playground was hazardous to young children and should have taken “reasonable precautions” — such as warning children of the danger or getting rid of the dangerous equipment — to protect their son and other students.
The Naranjos aim to recover current and future medical expenses related to their son’s injury, as well as damages for Christopher Naranjo’s “future pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and emotional distress,” according to court documents.
In its response, the District denied any negligence, instead pinning the blame for Christopher Naranjo’s injury on an unidentified third party.
“The alleged injuries, if any, were caused in whole or in part by the negligence or intentional conduct of third parties or persons or instrumentalities other than (the District),” court documents state.
Superintendent David Cockerham said the third party is not a specific person. It could be the Naranjos, another student hypothetically involved in the incident — anyone except the District, he said.
“That’s just a generic form letter they send out,” Cockerham said, referring to that and other statements the District’s lawyer, Gerald Coppler, included in the District’s response. “The bottom line is, they’d have to show the equipment malfunctioned, or that whoever was supervising was intentionally negligent.”
Roger Wagman, the Naranjos’ lawyer, filed a motion Sept. 8 requesting a trial by jury. No date has been set for a trial, according to court documents.
Calls to lawyers for both parties were not returned.