The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the Hudson County Superior Court’s dismissal of a personal injury claim filed on behalf of a preschooler, injured in a fall from playground equipment, after the lower court found that the plaintiff did not demonstrate that he sustained a permanent loss of bodily function as required by the Tort Claims Act.

The preschooler was attending the Harrison In District Day School on Dec. 21, 2017, when he fell from a platform of playground equipment and landed on his left arm, according to the opinion. The plaintiff, T.R.C., underwent surgery to repair a displaced lateral condyle fracture to his left elbow, which required the placement of two pins. T.R.C., through his guardian ad litem, Ada Cardenas, filed suit in June 2020 against the town, the school and the Harrison Board of Education.