The complaint, filed in 2017, stated that Luid Silverio, was running laps in Westside Park, NJ, at the instruction of his gym teacher working at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson. The path he was running on was in poor condition and there were many potholes in the path's surface.
When his classmates began throwing rocks at a nearby wasp nest the insects began attacking students, and they fled toward the school in an attempt to escape being stung. During his escape, Silverio tripped on a pothole and his fall caused significant injury.
The lawsuit cited he suffered “physical, emotional and psychological injuries,” and alleged that the poor repair and the city public school system was negligent in addressing the dilapidated path. The suit also blamed the school employees from failing to stop the other students from throwing rocks at the wasp nest which prompted the students' retreat.
The board of education approved a settlement worth $100,000. The school district continues to deny any wrongdoing.
