 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Penn Harris Madison School Corp. v. Howard8/16/2005
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Linda Howard, on behalf of her minor son David Howard ("Howard"), filed suit against the Penn Harris Madison School Corporation ("Penn") for injuries that Howard received while performing in a school play. A jury entered a verdict in favor of Howard, and Penn appeals. The school presents two issues for our review:
1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion when it instructed the jury on the standard of care applicable to a seventeen-year-old child.
2. Whether the evidence supported instructing the jury on the last clear chance doctrine.
Howard cross-appeals and presents one issue for our review, namely, whether the trial court abused its discretion when it did not give his proffered instruction No. 6.
We reverse and remand for a new trial.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Jon West is a former music teacher at Elsie Rogers Elementary School, which is a part of the Penn school corporation. During the summer after his freshman year of high school, Howard met West, who was then directing and producing a play for Howard's church. At that time, Howard's father had been diagnosed with ALS and was declining in health, and West and Howard developed a close relationship. West frequently directed and produced plays throughout the community, and Howard often assisted in the production of those plays by building sets and helping with the sound equipment.
In the fall of 2000, when Howard was a seventeen-year-old senior at Penn High School, West prepared to put on the play "Peter Pan" at West's elementary school. Because Howard enjoyed rock climbing, he and West discussed constructing a zip-line to allow the Peter Pan character to "fly" above the audience and onto the stage during the play. West assisted Howard in purchasing supplies to construct the zip-line, but Howard basically constructed it himself. Howard strung a cable from rafters in the rear of the gymnasium to rafters located just behind the stage. A single-wheeled pulley was fixed onto the cable, and attached to the pulley was fabric webbing that ran down to two non-locking carabiners. In order to attach himself to the pulley, the performer wore a climbing harness with a metal ring at his waist which was clipped with a non-locking carabiner to the pulley.
On the night of dress rehearsal, Howard prepared to rehearse the stunt. He had previously tested the zip-line several times, but during those test-runs, Howard had hooked the webbing carabiner to a belly loop on the front of his harness. On the night of the rehearsal, however, Howard connected himself to the webbing through a loop on the back of the harness. In order to reach the cable, Howard placed a ladder on a portable stage at the rear of the gymnasium, and he climbed to the third rung of the ladder while West held the base of the ladder to secure it. Howard leaned against the wall while he fastened the webbing from the pulley to a loop located on the back of his harness. After attaching himself to the pulley, Howard turned toward the stage and jumped. But the carabiners did not hold, and Howard fell to the floor of the gymnasium. He suffered several injuries, including facial fractures, a severed facial nerve, a lacerated spleen, and fractures and nerve damage to his hands and wrists, which required surgery.
Linda Howard filed a complaint against Penn on behalf of her son, alleging that Penn's negligence was the proximate cause of Howard's injuries. At trial, over Penn's objections, the judge gave the jury Howard's proffered instructions on the standard of care to be exercised by a seventeen-year-old and on the last clear chance doctrine. The ju
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Indiana Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|