Oklahoma parent sues as 7-year-old son recovers from severe playground injury

A mom is suing an Oklahoma school district as her 7-year-old son recovers from a serious playground injury in 2024 that resulted in significant medical costs the school’s liability insurance hasn’t helped cover.

“The first surgeon’s bill was $118,000,” Michaela Borden told the local NBC affiliate, describing the lawsuit as a last-ditch attempt to gain financial help from the district. 

The injury occurred at North Rock Creek Public Schools’ elementary school, when Borden’s son Kaiden “crashed into a school window while playing” with friends, the news outlet reported. 

“The glass sliced deeply through his wrist and hand, cutting tendons, arteries, and nerves in the area.” 

Despite multiple surgeries, Kaiden still requires weekly physical therapy sessions, has lost overall mobility and cannot increase his grip strength when playing baseball, his mom explained. 

“We are told that his hand will never be the same again,” she said in the news video, noting the injury was sustained on Kaiden’s dominant right hand. 

The district, which enrolled approximately 1,000 students in rural areas in the 2023-24 academic year, hasn’t yet responded to requests for comment. 

“We are very active in that school,” Borden said. “I just don’t like the way they’re handling things.” 

Kaiden’s doctors have even written a letter “detailing the extent of his injuries and need for ongoing treatment” to the school, but the district has failed to provide any financial assistance to the family, the news outlet observed. 

Borden waited more than a year before filing her lawsuit because of her longtime support for the school, she told the media. “I stayed very quiet, and I was giving them the opportunity to do something right.” 

More school playgrounds under scrutiny: ‘Not ADA compliant’ 

Edmond Public Schools, another Oklahoma district, was sued recently over playground conditions at Will Rogers Elementary School. Parents alleged the playground failed to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

“Some new temporary equipment showed up, like some Legos and a stepping stone, just some yard equipment essentially,” said Ciara Ghajar, a mom of three children with special needs. 

“I brought up the issue that please don’t place this equipment before you make it flat, because then it’s still not ADA compliant, and they didn’t do that before they put the equipment in.” 

Other parents criticized the pre-kindergarten program’s playground lot, which was supposed to have been updated to accommodate special education needs. 

“The area that they enclosed was somewhat inclined,” explained Jodi Tillman, “which is not conducive for any of our kiddos that are in wheelchairs or using adaptive equipment.” 

Suing the school will hopefully rouse the district to improve existing conditions, Ghajar argued. 

“My hope is that Will Rogers will get the proper support that it needs – that they will bring everything beyond ADA compliance, since that’s the bare minimum, and truly practice what they preach about an inclusive education.”