Settlement proposed in claim against district

SANDPOINT — The Lake Pend Oreille School District appears to be settling a claim for damages from a 13-year-old student who was seriously injured when a soccer goal was blown down onto him.

The proposed settlement is pending and expected to be filed under seal, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.

Slade Rucker was taking part in physical education at an undisclosed Lake Pend Oreille School District facility in May of last year when a soccer goal toppled over and struck him in the face. The boy’s father told the court on Wednesday that the goal was blown over by a strong wind, court records indicate.

The falling goal broke Rucker’s upper and lower eye socket and caused a dozen other facial fractures. The injuries required the installation of plates in the boy’s face.

Although no figures are mentioned in a petition for compromise of the minor’s disputed claim, court minutes indicate the settlement could be up to $135,000.

Judge Barbara Buchanan declined to sign an order for the settlement without a sum listed in the document, court documents show.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission set industry standards in 1999 that aimed to reduce the risk of soccer goal tip-over. At the time, the commission said there were 23 deaths and 38 serious injures from soccer goals tipping over and crushing children who climb on them or hang from the crossbar since 1979.

The new standard required that all moveable soccer goals except very lightweight ones be prohibited from tipping when the goal is weighted in a downward or horizontal direction. Warning labels advising consumers to anchor the goals were also required.

The commission recommends auger-style anchors that are screwed into the ground or underground attachments that tether the goals.