Chicago Public Schools faces suit over student's alleged playground injury

A woman is suing the city's Board of Education over claims her son was injured on a defective piece of playground equipment at his school.

Monica Jackson, individually and as mother and next friend of her minor son, filed a lawsuit July 16 in the Cook County Circuit Court against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago, doing business as Chicago Public Schools, alleging premises liability.

According to the suit, Jackson's son was a student at John Hay Elementary Community Academy in Chicago on May 21, when he fell off a piece of playground equipment that supposedly was missing a barrier to keep children from falling to the ground.

Jackson accuses the defendant of failing to maintain the premises or provide barriers to prevent children from using the defective structure.

She is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and is being represented in the case by attorney Paul G. Hardiman in Chicago.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.