An Ocala woman who is suing the Marion County School Board claims she sustained injuries after falling down a set of bleachers during a middle school basketball game due to an “exposed rail holder.”
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys representing Melinda Brooks against the school board in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Marion County on July 10.
According to the complaint, on January 29, 2024, Brooks was visiting Liberty Middle School, which is located at 4773 SW 95th Street in Ocala, to attend a “school-sponsored basketball game that was open to the public.”
The complaint states that the gymnasium at the middle school contains “bleacher seating used during events such as basketball games,” that is supposed to be maintained and inspected by the school.
Brooks claims that while she was “walking in the bleacher area of the gymnasium,” she “tripped over an exposed rail holder,” which caused her to “fall down the bleachers.”
According to Brooks, the alleged exposed rail holder was “not clearly marked, guarded, or otherwise made safe for individuals walking in the area,” and there were no “warning signs, cones, tape, or barriers” present in the area to alert Brooks of the danger.
“The Marion County School Board knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of the presence of this dangerous condition,” reads the complaint.
As a result of her fall, Brooks claims she sustained “serious and permanent injuries.” The complaint goes on to accuse the school board of negligently maintaining the premises in an “unsafe manner” by allowing the “protruding or exposed rail holder to remain in a walking area of the bleachers.”
The complaint accuses the school board of negligence and demands in excess of $50,000 in damages.