Student slipped while running to school office
A former Whitehorse student is suing the Yukon government and the Department of Education claiming negligence after a fall at school caused her head and neck injuries.
A former Whitehorse student is suing the Yukon government and the Department of Education claiming negligence after a fall at school caused her head and neck injuries.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Yukon Supreme Court by Alex Furlong on behalf of 16-year-old Kaitlin Furlong.
On Nov. 24, 2010 the teen was a Grade 8 student at the Wood Street Centre, owned and operated by the Yukon government.
That year, the school engaged students in a learning game dubbed “Word of the Day”, the lawsuit says.
Students were encouraged to guess words using clues given to them by school staff.
“Students were in competition with one another to see who could figure out the word first,” court documents say. “The first student to figure out the word of the day and write it down in the office won.”
Believing she had guessed the word that day in November 2010, Kaitlin Furlong was running to the office when she slipped and fell.
The school’s office is located near the entrance, and in winter months, snow is tracked inside and melts outside the office, documents say.
The lawsuit claims Kaitlin Furlong suffered serious personal injury, including post-concussive syndrome and traumatic brain injury.
She has acute pain in her jaw and neck, chronic daily headaches and chronic episodes of dizziness and nausea.
The teen has also suffered from episodes of depression, a decreased ability to concentrate on academics and post traumatic stress.
“YTG was aware, or ought to have been aware, of the likelihood of the floor being slippery in the place where Kaitlin fell,” the documents say.
The lawsuit claims the fall was caused by negligence.
It alleges the school failed to remove the melted snow from the floor “or take any action to reduce the danger posed by the wet floor or to provide adequate or any warning of the danger posed by the wet floor.”
The government has yet to file any documents in its defence.
The family wants the government to pay medical costs as well as other damages. No specific dollar amount is mentioned in the documents.
The two sides will next meet for a case management conference in August.
The family now lives in Regina.
In the territory, Alex Furlong had a public profile as the president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.
Cathy
Jun 26, 2012 at 3:53 pm
My daughter attended this school, loved everything about and graduated with honors. There were numerous activities that she took part in both inside and out the school, if she was injured at any time she never told me. People including school students have to be aware of their surroundings and use caution if they see an unsafe condition. If I’m running into an area that I know is full of snow and ice, it is my responsibility to slow down and be careful. this is called common sense.