The parents of a boy injured by metal bleachers at Adams Field in Peterborough this summer are suing the town for damages.
Deputy Town Administrator Nicole MacStay said the case as well as the lawsuit against the town filed by former recreation director Jeff King has been referred to the town’s insurance company Primex. A representative said that as a public risk management pool, Primex does not comment on pending litigation.
In the lawsuit the parents of the boy, Luke Bergeron and Emaline Bergeron of Peterborough say their son suffered a severe laceration on July 31 to his thigh when he ran by the bleacher and came into contact with the exposed metal edge.
The Bergeron’s civil lawsuit was filed in the Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester on Dec. 13.
Luke Bergeron, accompanied by his minor son, was playing on one of the softball teams in the Peterborough adult co-ed softball league administered by the town of Peterborough on the day the injury occurred, according to the lawsuit.
“The Town of Peterborough, by and through the Peterborough Recreation Department, sponsors an adult co-ed softball league. Teams are permitted to join the league and are required to pay a fee of $600.00 per softball team. The facilities and softball field on which the teams play are owned and maintained by the Defendant,” the lawsuit says. “Adams Field includes metal bleachers for use of the softball players, their invitees, guests, family members and other spectators. … On July 31, 2019, one of the metal bleachers at Adams Field lacked an end cap exposing a sharp metal edge on the edge of one of the seats of the bleacher.” As the boy “ran by the bleacher, his thigh came into contact with the exposed metal edge causing a severe laceration to his thigh.”
The town “had a duty to maintain Adams Field, including the bleacher system, in a safe, reasonable and prudent manner so that hazards did not exist on the property and that the facilities at Adams Field could be used in a safe manner without causing injuries to the users of the field,” the lawsuit said, adding that the town “negligently breached their duties and failed to maintain the bleacher system by requiring that endcaps be maintained on the bleachers so that the sharp metal edges were not exposed.”
As a result of the town’s “negligence” the child “suffered a severe laceration, permanent scarring, pain, and suffering.”
Additionally, the family “incurred medical expenses as a result of the injuries suffered” to the child.
The Bergerons are seeking “an award for all losses, damages and injuries suffered by (the child) and expenses incurred by them …”
The parents are also demanding a jury trial according to the lawsuit filed by their attorneys, Nashua law firm Gottesman & Hollis P.A. Attorneys at Law in Nashua.