New Jersey student awarded $170K in lawsuit over playground slide

A New Jersey student has been awarded $170,000 in a settlement after she got hurt on a school playground slide that was too steep.

The student, who was then a kindergartner at Griebling Elementary School in Howell Township, N.J., “was using the slide on the school playground during recess” on Oct. 14, 2017, the Asbury Park Press reported Wednesday, citing a criminal complaint filed in June.

The student then “slid down the slide at an excessive rate of speed due to the steep slope of the slide causing her to fall off and sustain significant injuries to her right hand and arm,” the complaint reads.

While federal standards mandate that slides for preschool- and school-aged children shouldn’t surpass an angle of 30 degrees, the complaint alleged the slide in question was angled at 35.2 degrees, the Asbury Park Press reports.{mosads}

The finding prompted an attorney on behalf of the student to sue the school district and the city, arguing that the slide was steeper than the “Handbook for Public Playground Safety” rules.

The suit also reportedly argued the school district was negligent for not keeping its equipment up to par and for not keeping its space safe and properly supervised.

Nearly $16,500 of the settlement will go toward the girl’s medical bills, while roughly $43,500 will go to her lawyer. Most of the settlement will be placed in an account the girl can access once she turns 18.

The girl’s family in August agreed to a settlement with the school, the Asbury Park Press reports. It is unclear whether the slide involved in the lawsuit is still standing.