School district settles lawsuit

SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Oreille School District has settled a negligence lawsuit filed by the mother of an elementary school student who was injured in a playground mishap in 2003.

The school district settled the suit for $15,000, according to court records.

No further information about the accord was contained in the court file, which showed District Judge Lansing Haynes approved the settlement agreement on Oct. 17.

Kay Vandenberg sued the school district after her 7-year-old daughter was injured in a fall from a set of monkey bars at Sagle Elementary School on June 9, 2003.

The 6-foot fall broke the girl's arm and nose, and left her with a permanent scar on her face, the complaint said.

The suit claimed there was inadequate supervision on the playground at the time, with one teacher present to observe approximately 100 students. There also was no safety mat below the monkey bars the girl fell from, the suit said.

Vandenberg's counsel, Sandpoint attorney Todd Reed, further alleged in the suit that school staff responded inappropriately during the emergency by failing to keep the girl immobile and summon an ambulance.

Instead, school staff took her to an office and placed the girl flat on her back, the suit said. Staff believed the girl was going into shock, but opted to call the school nurse rather than emergency medical personnel and left her unattended in a room without a blanket until her mother arrived, the suit alleged.