Eight-year-old Dallin Cunningham, inset, died last year on the playground at Rose Springs Elementary in Stansbury Park, Utah, after falling off a slide. Now, his parents are suing the school district. (Dallin: Obituary; School: Google Maps)
The family of an 8-year-old boy is suing the Utah school district, where he died after flying off a slide on a playground.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday, Dallin Cunningham was on the playground at Rose Springs Elementary in Stansbury Park, Utah, about 30 miles outside of Salt Lake City, during recess on Feb. 6, 2023. He went down a cork-screw-like slide but “flew off” and fell about 7 feet to a “frozen rock-hard” surface below.
The lawsuit says, according to police, the fall occurred no later than 10:07 a.m., but school staff did not call 911 for 10 minutes. The Tooele County Sheriff’s Office said school staff did CPR on Dallin until an ambulance arrived. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but he died the next day of blunt-force trauma to the head.
Lawyers for Dallin’s parents, Timothy and Kathryn Cunningham, filed a lawsuit against the Tooele County School District, claiming negligence and wrongful death, saying the district is liable for damages.
According to the suit, the slide did not have the proper barriers, was “excessively fast and steep,” and the ground below was not soft enough. There was not enough mulch below the slide to act as an appropriate buffer to absorb the impact of a fall. Attorneys for the Cunningham family claim the “standard” for playground mulch is 12 inches of fill, which would compress to a minimum of 9 inches. However there was just an inch worth of mulch over the surface underneath, the lawsuit said.
“I’ve represented a lot of grieving parents, and I would say that they are still very, very hurt,” said Peter Mifflin, the family’s attorney, in an interview with local Fox affiliate KSTU.
Mifflin said the Utah Attorney General will file a response to the lawsuit on behalf of the school district.
“The main thing that’s the problem is that the playground surface around the playground had not been appropriately maintained — it was rock solid,” he said.
The school district, which declined to comment because of pending litigation, removed the slide after the incident.
According to his obituary, Dallin enjoyed playing cards, video games, board games and putting together puzzles.
“Dallin is the perfect, imperfect eight-year-old little boy. Sometimes teasing, sometimes antagonizing, but always in love for his three sisters, his mommy, and daddy,” the obituary said. Our sweet eight-year-old son, Dallin James Cunningham, passed away peacefully Tuesday, February 7, 2023, surrounded by family. This came after falling from a slide at school the previous day. We are heartbroken. We will miss his smiles, hugs, cuddles, jokes, playful spirit, and amazing mind.”
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