A mother of a Discovery Elementary student claims her daughter’s multiple, separate injuries were caused by a gopher hole-filled grass field that the school failed to maintain.
Sofia Corbisiero, 10, suffered five different injury incidents in total dating back to 2017, including a broken leg, fractured wrist and sprained ankle, according to the lawsuit filed in September.
“My principal, I thought that she was kind of mad at me in a way. She always thought it was my fault that I’m like faking it or something, but like I can’t break my own leg,” Corbisiero said.
Corbisiero was running and playing in the field during physical education class in April of 2017 when she tripped and fell on a gopher hole and fractured her wrist, the lawsuit stated.
When mother Tina Ciolfi complained to the school, they placed orange cones around the holes, but Ciolfi said that did little to prevent any injuries.
A few months later Sofia twisted her ankle on another gopher hole on the field. This time Ciolfi said she called the San Marcos Unified Superintendent who said her hands were tied, according to the family.
“I really felt terrible watching my daughter go through the pain at night, moaning, crying, the cast. I was very frustrated,” Ciolfi told NBC 7.
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In September 2018, Corbisiero tripped on yet another gopher hole and broke her leg in several places and required a cast from hip to toe, the lawsuit said.
Corbisiero, her family and the attorneys met with the principal and district investigator at the school in April 2019 where they discovered the holes had been filled with dirt prior to their arrival, the lawsuit said.
“Most of my friends, it has happened before and a lot of them did end up breaking bones, but what the school does to fix them, is put loose dirt on top of them or other times they put the cones,” Corbisiero said.
San Marcos Unified School District released an official statement to NBC 7, "San Marcos Unified School District does not comment on pending litigation. We are proud of the work of our Maintenance & Operations staff in the ongoing maintenance of all District facilities and grounds. It is through their dedication and hard work that our community can take pride in our educational campuses.
"The family's attorney Christopher Morris told NBC 7 he's been to the field himself "and it’s a mess."
"She’s had five different injuries at this school and mom was just at the end of her rope and really had no other option," Morris said. "She was reluctant to seek legal help but she felt like that was the only thing she had left to do."
Morris said the case is in the discovery phase which includes trying to find other kids who have been injured from the gopher holes.
