- Posted June 26, 2012
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Capture the flag game leads to broken teeth, lawsuit
CHARLEVOIX, Mich. (AP) -- A Chicago girl who lost teeth and was severely injured during a game of capture the flag can take a northern Michigan camp to trial for negligence, the state appeals court said last Friday.
Julie Gamze, 13 at the time, was struck in the mouth with a flagpole carried by another camper while they were running at Camp Sea-Gull in Charlevoix in 2007. The appeals court, noting some confusion about the game, said jurors should sort out whether kids were told by staff to grab a towel at the base of the pole or the pole itself.
The camp "owed Gamze a duty to provide proper instructions. ... She and her family entrusted defendants with her safety during her stay," a three-judge panel said.
The court said Gamze, now 18, lost a tooth and suffered three cracked teeth. But her attorney, Ryann Embury of Traverse City, said the injuries and subsequent care have been very extensive.
"She's been having all sorts of bone grafts," he said. "She will have problems with her teeth for the rest of her life because of the age of her bones when she was struck in the face. She could have lost her eye. Thank God she didn't."
A message seeking comment from the camp's attorney was not immediately returned.
"We understand accidents occur, but a 13-year-old shouldn't go away to a summer camp and come home missing her front teeth," Embury said.
Published: Tue, Jun 26, 2012
headlines Oakland County
- Whitmer signs gun violence prevention legislation
- Department of Attorney General conducts statewide warrant sweep, arrests 9
- Adoptive families across Michigan recognized during Adoption Day and Month
- Reproductive Health Act signed into law
- Case study: Documentary highlights history of courts in the Eastern District
headlines National
- Lucy Lang, NY inspector general, has always wanted rules evenly applied
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- 2024 Year in Review: Integrated legal AI and more effective case management
- How to ensure your legal team is well-prepared for the shifting privacy landscape
- Judge denies bid by former Duane Morris partner to stop his wife’s funeral
- Attorney discipline records short of disbarment would be expunged after 8 years under state bar plan