The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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November 8, 2009

Schools settle kickball lawsuit

Girl broke ankle

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — The mother of a girl who fractured her ankle while playing kickball during summer school at Dakota Meadows Middle School has reached a financial settlement with the Mankato School District.

Amanda Smith was less than a week away from her 12th birthday when she slid on a file folder her teacher provided as one of the bases for the game in June 2008. The folder slid out from under Smith’s foot when she ran to the base, which resulted in the broken ankle and other injuries to her right leg, court records said.

Her mother, Rachal Karstens, has reached a settlement with the school district’s insurance provider, EMC Insurance Companies, that will cover medical expenses and create an annuity for Smith that will mature with a final lump-sum payment on her 30th birthday.

The settlement was filed in Blue Earth County District Court last week. It will go before District Court Judge George Harrelson for approval during a hearing Nov. 18.

The total payment from Independent School District 77’s insurance provider is $25,000.

Smith’s medical expenses totaled nearly $12,000, but most of that cost was covered by UCare Minnesota, a state health care insurer. A payment of about $3,600 will be issued to UCare through the settlement.

A total of about $8,800 will be paid to Mankato law firm Maschka, Riedy and Ries to cover about $8,300 in attorney’s fees and about $500 in expenses, according to the settlement.

The annuity, issued by Allstate Live Insurance Co., will be purchased for the remaining $12,600. If the payment is accepted by Karstens, the school district and EMC Insurance will be released from any further liabilities for the incident, according to the terms of the settlement.

If the settlement is approved, Smith will get her first lump-sum payment of $1,500 in 2014 on her 18th birthday. Another $2,500 will be paid out on her 21st birthday in 2017.

She would receive $4,000 in 2020, $5,000 in 2023 and the final $6,761 payment on her 30th birthday in 2026.

The total value of the annuity is estimated to be nearly $20,000 by that time, based on a guaranteed annual return of slightly more than 3.7 percent.

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