A Pennsylvania state court judge has denied a school district’s motion for summary judgment in a case where a student-athlete sued the district after he stepped in a hole on the football field and injured his knee.
Specifically, Judge Joseph Augello found that a determination whether the field’s maintenance was the cause of the injury and how much knowledge the district had about condition of the field prior to the injury were decisions better left to a jury.
The incident occurred on Aug. 30, 2002 as plaintiff Dennis Ulichney Jr., a then 17-year-old senior, ran down the field on the opening kickoff and stepped into a hole. Ulichney tore ligaments in his right knee, which required surgery. After rehabbing the knee, he injured the knee again, requiring two more surgeries.
In his complaint, the plaintiff noted that then head football coach George Curry sent a memo to the school’s athletic director, Tim Honeywell, on Aug. 28, 2002, advising him of the problem with the field.
“I am writing to inform you that the Berwick football fields (practice and game fields) really pose a health hazard to our players,” Curry wrote. “I realize nothing can be done at the present time, but I hope you can talk to the school board into doing this field the proper way – to level, contour, and then sod it and put in a good drainage system.”
Curry added that 12 players had undergone knee surgeries in the past four years because of problems with the field.
Ulichney is represented by attorney Albert J. Flora Jr.
