Injured EL student awarded $325,000

East Lyme — A former East Lyme High School student has been awarded $325,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit his family filed against the town after he was injured in a fall during track practice in 2007.

Nicholas Furlani, 21, crashed head first into a cement wall during a track practice in the hallways of the high school on Dec. 29, 2007. His fall led to emergency brain surgery. His family sought damages to cover medical costs and emotional distress.

The lawsuit was filed in New London Superior Court in 2008 against the town, the Board of Education, track coach Mark Alexander, former athletic director Scott Mahon and high school Principal Lawrence Roberts. It was settled last week through mediation before Judge Robert Martin of New London.

"The case settled for significant compensation that will allow Nick, a senior at Eastern State University, to graduate debt-free and have funds to start his professional career," said Daniel Horgan, the New London attorney representing Furlani.

Furlani claimed the town was negligent and wanted compensation for about $50,000 in medical and dental bills his family incurred, as well as his own physical and emotional anguish.

The trial was scheduled for December.

In an affidavit, Furlani described the incident when he was a senior at the high school and a member of the indoor track team, coached by Alexander. He said practice that day was held indoors, and the team was preparing for its biggest meet of the year.

Furlani was part of the sprint team, and that afternoon the coach instructed the sprinters to line up in sets of two and race approximately 100 meters down a straight hallway in the high school.

Furlani said the coach told them that the imaginary finish line was near the end of the hallway, approximately 10 feet from an uncovered cement wall. As the team performed the sprints, their momentum carried them into the cement wall, and they either held out their arms and braced themselves or would run one or two steps up on the wall to stop.

During his fifth or sixth sprint, he said, he was racing another teammate down the hallway, and when they got to the finish line, Furlani said his head was down, just like it would have been during a competitive meet, and his feet got tangled with his teammate's and he crashed into the wall.

During some practice sprints that day, Furlani said the coach was near the end of the hall, observing the players' form and determining who won the race. All the sprinters were trained by Alexander to lean forward with head extended down at the finish line to create the best opportunity to win the race.

According to the affidavit, Furlani said, "I remember hitting the wall with my head, spitting out blood and pieces of my teeth and several people yelling for help."

"When I arrived at the hospital, the doctors told me I would need emergency brain surgery to remove the swelling from the brain."

Furlani was left with a permanent zipper-like scar across his forehead, emotional anguish and an impaired wrist due to a fracture, according to Horgan.

Though state law provides immunity for teachers and administrators who are exercising discretion during school or school-related activities, the judge ruled that if a person is exposing an identifiable individual to imminent harm, the immunity can be lost.

The school system also claimed that a waiver of liability was signed on behalf of Furlani. However, the judge dismissed that claim.

"The family is very pleased that the school finally accepted responsibility and settled this case," Horgan said. "The Furlani family was very supportive of the high school and its sports coaches and program, but felt the administration was trying to hide behind the immunity statute and not do the right thing."

Several phone calls were placed to East Lyme High School Athletic Director Steve Hargis but he could not be reached to comment.

Bruce H. Raymond, an attorney from Raymond & Bennett LLC out of Glastonbury, released a statement Thursday on behalf of the Board of Education: "My investigation showed that the practices of the school were in compliance with the applicable standard of care and that the case was settled without an admission of liability."

a.renczkowski@theday.com