The Marion County School Board has denied allegations that a mother’s son was injured after tripping on overgrown tree roots at an Ocala elementary school yard, saying the child likely fell due to another individual’s “negligence” and that the roots were in the “open and obvious and cannot be considered inherently dangerous.”
This month, attorneys from DGH Legal, PLLC, filed a response to the lawsuit, as well as several subpoenas and notices, on behalf of the school board in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County.
On April 10, attorneys filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tiffany Oakleaf and her child, claiming that the child sustained injuries on or about May 13, 2022, while at Ocala Springs Elementary School (5757 NE 40th Avenue Road).
While at the school, the child allegedly tripped on “overgrown tree roots in the school yard,” according to the lawsuit. The document accuses the school of being negligent in its handling of the alleged conditions, saying it failed to “maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition.”
Oakleaf claims her son has suffered “personal medical injuries,” medical expenses, and other injuries as a result of the alleged incident. She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney’s fees.
According to an Answer and Affirmative Defenses filed by DGH Legal on June 6, the school board claims other individuals who are “known,” but whose responsibility hasn’t been “ascertained,” may have been in “part” or wholly responsible for the incident and the associated damages.
“[The school board] gives notice that it intends to request that such responsible parties, persons or entities, including Plaintiff, if applicable, be placed on the verdict form in this cause. Discovery is continuing and there may be other persons or entities whose identity is presently unknown, or whose identity is known but their potential responsibility is not yet ascertained, who may be responsible,” reads a statement from the complaint.
The school board claims it is “not liable or responsible to the extent that the incident or damages complained of” was caused by “persons or entities for whose conduct” the board is “not responsible and over whom it did not have control.”
The document also claims the child failed to “exercise reasonable and ordinary care in the protection of his/her health and life, and such negligence was the sole cause, or contributed to the cause of the injuries.”
The school board also claims that any potential injuries were pre-existing.
“Any injury or damages claimed by the plaintiff is a result of a pre-existing injury or condition and not caused by the incident which is the subject of the complaint. Any damages recoverable by plaintiff herein should be limited to the aggravation of injury caused by this defendant, if any, or if no aggravation exists, no recovery should be had,” reads the document.
In addition to the answer, the school board’s attorneys also filed several notices to obtain documents from multiple local pharmacies.