Opinion
Submitted October 25, 2000.
November 21, 2000.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Carter, J.), entered December 10, 1999, which granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
Mead, Hecht, Conklin Gallagher, LLP, White Plains, N Y (Elizabeth M. Hecht and Sara Luca Salvi of counsel), for appellants.
Morgan, Melhuish, Monaghan, Arvidson, Abrutyn Lisowski, New York, N Y (Andrea E. Waisman of counsel), for respondent.
Before: GUY JAMES MANGANO, P.J., SONDRA MILLER, LEO F. McGINITY, DANIEL F. LUCIANO, NANCY E. SMITH, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is denied, and the complaint is reinstated.
The plaintiff Ronald T. Hubbard, a member of his high school's varsity lacrosse team, was hit in the face with a lacrosse ball during pre-game practice. Ronald T. Hubbard and his teammates were not wearing any protective head gear at the time of the accident even though such gear had been provided by the school.
The Supreme Court erred in granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment. There are questions of fact as to whether the coaches adequately warned the players about the risks involved in not wearing their protective gear during practice and whether the failure of the supervising coach to direct the players to use their protective gear during practice unreasonably increased the risk of injury to Ronald T. Hubbard (see, Benitez v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 73 N.Y.2d 650; Seidel v. White Plains City School Dist., 271 A.D.2d 518; Stryker v. Jericho Union Free School Dist., 244 A.D.2d 330; Cody v. Massapequa Union Free School Dist., 227 A.D.2d 36 8; Baker v. Briarcliff School Dist., 205 A.D.2d 652).