In Carbonnier v. Board of Education of the City of New York, a student who was injured after being pushed by another student while playing on the monkey bars in a school playground.
The Appellate Division yesterday directed the entry of judgment in favor of defendant.
According to the court,
defendant demonstrated its entitlement to summary judgment by demonstrating that there was adequate instruction and supervision with respect to the playground and its equipment. The evidence establishes that the infant plaintiff had used monkey bars at least 50 times before the accident and had used the monkey bars in the school playground twice before, there were a minimum of 2 adults in the playground for every class of 25 children at the time of the accident, both the teacher and the assistant teacher were walking around the playground assisting and monitoring student play, and it was “the impulsive, unanticipated act of a fellow student” that caused the accident.
In opposition, plaintiffs failed to show “that the level of supervision provided by defendants was inadequate, or that the alleged lack of supervision or training of the staff and the students was the proximate cause of the accident.”