School district not liable for student's injury

08/02/05

KATE KELLY

Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A Palmer High School graduate hoping to give people beautiful smiles by being an orthodontist someday is finding it hard to smile himself since losing his personal-injury lawsuit against the Mat-Su Borough School District on Friday.

A Palmer Superior Court jury took less than an hour July 29 to decide that the district and Palmer High physical-education teacher/coach Paul Reid were not responsible for a permanent knee injury Robert Cronlund received during Reid's weight-training class Feb. 26, 2002.

"We hope the best for the young man and his family, but we're glad this has come to a close in the district's favor," MSBSD Labor Relations Director Mark Pasier said at the conclusion of the week-long trial. "He's a young man. He's got a lot ahead of him and I'm sure he'll be fine."

Cronlund, 19, was hoping the lawsuit would help him pay for pre-med college courses and dental school expenses of more than $200,000 since his knee injury thwarted his plan to go into the Navy and have the military pay for his schooling. He said during the trial that Navy recruiters wouldn't give him the time of day when they learned of his injury.

Dreaming of going into the medical field since he was young, Cronlund said he doesn't know how he's going to pay for school now because he can't apply for student loans without a co-signer.

It was revealed during the trial that his parents can't be co-signers because they recently declared bankruptcy, after his mother cashed in her $90,000 retirement savings and $89,000 in life insurance to cover expenses since the injury.

"I only have another 12 days before [Northern Arizona University] starts asking for money, so I have to find a co-signer quick," he said when reached at home Sunday, adding he's unsure whether there will be any sort of appeal to the verdict.

Cronlund told the jury Thursday that his right knee became dislocated during stretching exercises after another student ran into his leg while Reid had his back to the class.

"I feel the teacher should have been more attentive," said Cronlund, the son of David and Gwendolyn Cronlund. "I don't believe it would have happened if he was."

Reid, a physical-education and health teacher at PHS for seven years, has denied he had his back to the class when the injury occurred, although he said during testimony that he didn't actually see Cronlund fall during the lateral lunges in the upper gym. He also admitted that there are times when he was not watching the class because he was taking care of other duties, such as attendance.

"I heard him call out in agony," Reid, 34, told the jury, saying he then asked another person to go to the nurse while he tended to Cronlund, trying to get him to calm down.

Reid said in a deposition that he thought because Cronlund was overweight and "out of shape," that might have had something to do with him falling during the lunges.

"We're starting to see more and more of that in our children," Reid said during court testimony, about students who are overweight. "I feel our job's important because lifestyles have changed a lot."

Three student witnesses who spoke on Reid's behalf - Shiloh Sicek, Mena Ballard, and Markie Johnson - told the jury their teacher usually walked around the gym during the stretching exercises, making sure everyone was doing them properly.

None of them remembered anything about Reid getting distracted during the incident, nor did they recall another student running out of line at the time. They also did not actually see the injury happen and only looked toward Cronlund when he began screaming in pain.

The only student who testified in Cronlund's favor was Raven Cronlund, now his sister-in-law. She was usually his partner during gym and she told the jury that she remembered seeing another student, Jeremiah Schuetter, becoming impatient next to her, and then the next thing she knew, Schuetter was running past them and Cronlund was lying on the mat with his knee popped out.

She also verified Cronlund's claim that Reid was not paying attention to the class before he fell.

The jury had to decide if Reid's actions that day amounted to "negligent supervision" and whether the school district should also be held accountable for Reid's alleged negligence.

Cronlund's attorney Lee Petersen presented compensation figures to the jury that totaled more than $600,000.

On Sunday, Cronlund said he felt the jury was influenced by Judge Beverly Cutler's pre-deliberation instructions that explained negligence.

"She basically said that a teacher can't be considered negligent for the actions of his students and can't be held responsible for not being able to look after the class at all times," Cronlund said. "I'm not trying to attack Mr. Reid as a teacher. I just don't feel I should have to go through this for his negligence."

Reid's wife, Kim Reid, who is a physical-education teacher at Finger Lakes Elementary, said while watching the trial that she was "aghast" at the lawsuit.

"I thought it was crazy," she said. "Really any P.E. teacher is not safe from that kind of persecution. This made me fearful for all P.E. programs because they are not always appreciated by those who determine funding and now this could be a black check in our box."

Contact Kate Kelly at 352-2284.