School Accidents frequently happen.

While students who participate in school sports are generally required to sign consent forms in case of possible "injury-causing events which are known, apparent, or reasonably foreseeable consequences of participation" the consent does not include those events that are unassumed, concealed or have unreasonably increased risks.

Here, the plaintiff was injured while playing lacrosse and the Supreme Court denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissal. In affirming that decision, the Appellate Decision, Second Department, stated: "Although being struck with a passed ball is a known risk in the sport of lacrosse, the defendant failed to eliminate all triable issues of fact as to whether it unreasonably increased the risk of harm to the plaintiff by failing to provide him with head and face protection during preseason high school lacrosse practice."

Thus, in school accident cases, the school must establish that it was not responsible, as a matter of law, in contributing to the cause of the injuries in order to successfully obtain a dismissal of the proceeding prior to trial.

Charles v. Uniondale School District Board of Education, NYLJ, 1/30/12, 22:6