The parents of an 8-year-old Utah boy are suing his elementary school district after he fell to his death from a playground slide.
On February 6, 8-year-old Darin Cunningham was riding a corkscrew slide at Rose Springs Elementary School when he “jumped out” at a corner and fell seven feet to the ground. According to a lawsuit obtained by the Sacramento Bee..
The boy suffered a traumatic brain injury after colliding with “frozen rock hard” mulch and later died in hospital.
Parents Timothy and Kathryn Cunningham filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the Tulare County School District, alleging the school negligently failed to install an appropriate layer of multi-pad on the playground floor.
They are seeking at least $90,000 in medical bills and damages determined in court.
The family said in the lawsuit that the slide was “unreasonably dangerous” and “excessively fast and steep” with no safety handrails to protect sliders from falling.
According to the complaint, the layer of mulch under the slide is “approximately 1 inch deep before hardening beneath it,” which is 12 inches deep under typical playground standards, according to the Sacramento Bee. It was said to be much lower than that.
The amount of mulch “below the freezing slide” was not sufficient to safely handle the “severe impact of Darrin’s fall,” the lawsuit said.
The Tuele County School District also failed to properly supervise the playground equipment, according to the complaint.
According to his obituary, Cunningham was a “perfect but imperfect 8-year-old boy” who loved to tease and play with his sisters and died “peacefully” the day after falling down the slide.
“We will miss his smile, hugs, cuddles, jokes, playfulness and his great spirit,” the obituary said.
The school declined to comment to the Post “due to active, public litigation.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with expenses.
