NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A jury in New Jersey has awarded $6 million to a student who tripped over a cable and broke her arm and elbow in gym class when she was in middle school.
The judgment for 19-year-old Destinee Dickens came last month following a five-day trial.
Dickens was 13 and with classmates at Union Avenue Middle School in Irvington when they were on a path leading to an athletic field. Her right shoe got caught when she attempted to leap over the cable.
Defense attorney Gregg Stone says the student has developed arthritis and is unable to extend her arm. He thinks the jury believed the injury would get progressively worse.
The panel reduced the award from $8 million after finding Dickens 25 percent liable for the fall.
