87 Pa. Commw. 461 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1985
Opinion by
Thomas J. Usher (Appellant) appeals from an order by the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County which granted summary judgment to the Upper Saint Clair School District (Appellee). We affirm.
Appellant was injured during the performance of a chemistry experiment in one of Appellee’s school buildings. A school teacher dropped a flaming chemical beaker which splashed flaming fluid on Appellant’s face. At the time of the accident, Appellant was out of his seat and standing next to the sink counter where the experiment was being conducted. Appellant alleged in his complaint that the teacher was negligent in failing to take adequate measures to control the area immediately surrounding the experiment. In its answer to the complaint, Appellee raised
The only issue before us is whether the alleged negligent conduct was directly related to the care, custody or control of real property, one of the specific exceptions to governmental immunity enumerated in the Act.
Appellant’s complaint states in pertinent part:
5. The aforesaid accident was caused by negligence of the defendant’s agent in general and in the following particulars:
(a) in failing to properly conduct the said experiment;
(b) in failing to take adequate measures to protect the injured plaintiff.
Our reading of those allegations of negligence indicates that it is the teacher’s failure to conduct the
In Lewis v. Hatboro-Horsham School District, 77 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 287, 289, 465 A.2d 1090, 1091 (1983), Judge Doyle, writing for this Court, said:
This section [Section 202(b)(3)] generally imposes liability in cases where the cause of the accident was the subdivision or its employee’s negligence in the care of real estate. Its purpose was to limit the old rule of absolute sovereign immunity by imposing a standard of due care on those political subdivisions who are owners or users of [real] property. Penalty is then imposed in the form of liability for failure to adhere to the standard of care in cases involving the exceptions (emphasis added).
Thus, in Robson v. Penn Hills School District, 63 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 250, 437 A.2d 1273 (1981), we held that sovereign immunity applied where a student is injured in a throwing incident while the teacher was out of the classroom; in Leivis we held that the same defense applied where a student was hit by a baseball during practice on school property; and in Wimbish v. Penn Hills School District, 59 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 620, 430 A.2d 710 (1981), we held that the defense applied where a student was injured on school property and allegedly did not receive appropriate medical attention. In none of these cases was it alleged that the school district was negligent in the care, custody or control of its real estate.
As we have noted, neither is there such an allegation in the complaint now before us. Apart from the allegations in the complaint, Appellant’s argument that liability should be imposed because of the
Order affirmed.
Ordpsr.
The order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, No. G-.D. 82-12079, dated December 13, 1982, is affirmed.
Act of November 26, 1978, P.L. 1399, as amended, formerly 53 P.'S. §5311.101, repealed, by Section 333 of the Act of October 5, 1980, P.L. 693. A similar provision is now found at 42 Pa. C. S. §8541.
Section 202(b) (3) of the Act, formerly 53 P.S. §5311.202 (b) (3). A similar provision is now found at 42 Pa. G. S. §8542(b) (3).
See Robson v. Penn Hills School District, 63 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 250, 437 A.2d 1273 (1981); Wimbish v. Penn Hills School District, 59 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 620, 430 A.2d 710 (1981).