Grandalski v. Lyons Township High School District 204

711 N.E.2d 372, 305 Ill. App. 3d 1, 238 Ill. Dec. 269, 1999 Ill. App. LEXIS 289
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 26, 1999
Docket1-97-2795
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 711 N.E.2d 372 (Grandalski v. Lyons Township High School District 204) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grandalski v. Lyons Township High School District 204, 711 N.E.2d 372, 305 Ill. App. 3d 1, 238 Ill. Dec. 269, 1999 Ill. App. LEXIS 289 (Ill. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

JUSTICE GALLAGHER

delivered the opinion of the court:

On October 17, 1994, plaintiffs, Kathleen Grandalski, a minor, by Katherine Grandalski, her mother and next friend, and Dennis Grandalski, the minor plaintiffs father, filed a three-count complaint against defendant school district seeking damages for injuries sustained by the minor plaintiff, Kathleen Grandalski (Kathleen). After the trial court granted two prior motions to dismiss, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint. Count I of the second amended complaint alleged negligence on the part of the school district for failing to provide a hand belt as a safety device and for the care and treatment rendered to Kathleen after the accident. Count II alleged willful and wanton misconduct for failing to provide the safety equipment, failing to prevent Kathleen from performing the “flip-flop,” and for the care and treatment rendered to her after the accident. Count III sought reimbursement of medical expenses pursuant to the Rights of Married Persons Act (Family Expense Act) (750 ILCS 65/15 (West 1994)). On June 16, 1997, the trial court dismissed, with prejudice, plaintiffs’ second amended complaint based upon the immunity afforded under the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Tort Immunity Act) (745 ILCS 10/1—101 et seq. (West 1994)).

Facts

On March 25, 1994, Kathleen Grandalski was injured when she fell on her head while performing a gymnastics maneuver during a physical education class at Lyons Township High School. At the time of her injury, Kathleen was a 15-year-old student. The class in which she was enrolled was a basic, introductory physical education class, which involved only basic gymnastics exercises. Kathleen, however, had begun gymnastics training herself at the age of three years and was participating in park district gymnastics competitions by the time she was five or six years old. The gymnastics maneuver that Kathleen was performing when she was injured is known as a “flip-flop.” At the time of her injury, Kathleen had the ability to confidently execute an unassisted flip-flop. She had learned to do a flip-flop, on her own, without a spotter, by the time she was seven or eight years old.

The class during which Kathleen was injured was on the last day for the grading period. The teacher was engaged with other students just before the end of the class. By that time, Kathleen had already been tested and had completed the requirements for the class. She began to perform gymnastics maneuvers on her own in another area of the gym. Kathleen successfully performed a flip-flop. The teacher observed Kathleen’s successful performance. When Kathleen attempted another flip-flop, she was unsuccessful and fell on her head. After the fall, Kathleen sat up on the mat. The teacher attended to Kathleen and also had another student press the emergency button to summon the school nurse. Kathleen complained of pain. The teacher stayed with Kathleen until the school nurse came.

When the nurse arrived, Kathleen was still complaining of pain. The nurse conducted a routine examination, observing Kathleen’s breathing, pulse and pupils, and concluded all three were normal. She also determined that Kathleen could move her extremities and that she was not feeling any tingling or numbness. Based upon this examination, Kathleen was taken to the nurse’s office in a wheelchair and her mother was notified. Kathleen’s mother then took her to an emergency room where Kathleen was diagnosed as having a cervical fracture. She was transferred by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she eventually underwent a cervical fusion.

Analysis

Plaintiffs raise several arguments as to why defendant is not immune from liability under the Tort Immunity Act. Our standard of review is de novo. Kedzie & 103rd Currency Exchange, Inc. v. Hodge, 156 Ill. 2d 112, 116, 619 N.E.2d 732, 735 (1993).

Section 3—108(a) of the Tort Immunity Act

Section 3—108(a) of the Tort Immunity Act provides in pertinent part:

“Except as otherwise provided by this Act *** neither a local public entity nor a public employee is liable for an injury caused by a failure to supervise an activity on or the use of any public property.” 745 ILCS 10/3—108(a) (West 1994).

Plaintiffs contend that this section of the Tort Immunity Act does not bar their claim because “they are not alleging that the school district was negligent in failing to supervise the gymnastics class” but instead claim they are alleging that the school district breached a separate and distinct duty to “provide adequate and safe equipment.” A review of plaintiffs’ complaint and their briefs filed in this appeal unequivocally indicates that plaintiffs are alleging and arguing that the school district was negligent in failing to supervise the gymnastics class. While plaintiffs may truly believe that their allegations concern a school district’s duty to provide safe and adequate equipment, they have failed to distinguish this duty from a teacher’s separate and distinct duty to supervise. The decision to require a student to use a particular piece of equipment falls under the teacher’s duty to supervise. The decision to provide the equipment in the first instance is that of the school district. We will discuss the school district’s duty to provide safe and adequate equipment later in this opinion.

The Illinois Supreme Court recently interpreted section 3—108(a)’s applicability to a teacher’s supervision in another case involving an injured student who sued a school district. Henrich v. Libertyville High School, 186 Ill. 2d 381 (1998). The plaintiffs in Hen-rich alleged willful and wanton misconduct on the part of the school district for requiring plaintiff to participate in a water basketball game with an allegedly rough player, knowing that plaintiff had a lower back condition and had been permanently restricted by his surgeon from participating in contact sports. The Henrich court held that the plain language of section 3—108(a) of the Tort Immunity Act immunizes a public school district and public school teachers from liability for an injury caused by either negligent or willful and wanton misconduct. Henrich, 186 Ill. 2d at 394-95. In view of that plain language, the court concluded that it was not required to consider whether the School Code (105 ILCS 5/1—1 et seq. (West 1994)), which does not immunize willful and wanton misconduct, was more specific than section 3—108(a) of the Tort Immunity Act. As the Henrich court explained, “to hold that section 24—24 of the School Code controlled the disposition of [allegations of willful and wanton misconduct] would effectively delete the explicit language in section 1—206 of the Tort Immunity Act that applies section 3—108(a) to school districts.” Henrich, 186 Ill. 2d at 394. While the holding in Henrich would seem to dispose summarily of the issues in the present case concerning any allegations of willful and wanton conduct with respect to the teacher’s supervision 1

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Bluebook (online)
711 N.E.2d 372, 305 Ill. App. 3d 1, 238 Ill. Dec. 269, 1999 Ill. App. LEXIS 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grandalski-v-lyons-township-high-school-district-204-illappct-1999.