JACKSON, N.J. — A Jackson Township family claims a summer camp basketball activity inside an elementary school classroom left a young girl with a deep puncture wound and permanent scarring after she allegedly crashed into sharp strips attached beneath a classroom whiteboard.
John Stancati, acting on behalf of his minor daughter, filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Jackson Township Board of Education and the Jackson Township Board of Recreation over the August 14, 2025 incident at Crawford-Rodriguez Elementary School.
According to the complaint, the child participated in the township’s 2025 Summer Camp when staff allegedly allowed children to play basketball inside Room A209 despite what the lawsuit describes as a dangerous setup involving a basketball hoop mounted to a whiteboard with sharp command strips attached along its base.
The lawsuit alleges one of those strips punctured the girl’s right thigh during play, causing what attorneys described as a “large and deep flesh wound.”
Lawsuit Claims Child Needed Emergency Treatment
Court filings state the child was rushed from the school by ambulance and treated at a hospital, where she received 24 surgical sutures.
The complaint claims the injury will leave her with a “large permanent scar” on her thigh.
Attorneys for the family allege school and recreation officials negligently created and ignored hazardous conditions inside the classroom while failing to properly supervise children participating in the summer camp program.
The lawsuit specifically accuses the defendants of permitting basketball activities in the classroom despite allegedly knowing sharp strips remained exposed beneath the mounted whiteboard.
The complaint also alleges this was not the first time a child suffered injuries connected to dangerous conditions involving classroom whiteboards in a Jackson Township school.
Key Points
• Jackson family sues school district and recreation board over summer camp injury
• Lawsuit says child suffered deep puncture wound and required 24 stitches
• Complaint alleges exposed sharp strips beneath classroom whiteboard caused injury
School District and Recreation Department Named
The lawsuit names both the Jackson Township Department of Education and the Jackson Township Department of Recreation as defendants.
According to the filing, the school district owned and controlled Crawford-Rodriguez Elementary School, while the recreation department allegedly supervised the 2025 Summer Camp program attended by the child.
Attorneys for the family claim both agencies had a duty to maintain safe conditions and properly supervise children participating in camp activities.
The complaint alleges defendants failed to remedy unsafe conditions, failed to warn children about hazards, and failed to take precautions that could have prevented the injury.
The family previously served notices of tort claims to public entities connected to the incident, according to court records.
An October 2025 certification from Ocean County’s Division of Risk Management stated the county did not own or control the school property involved in the incident, the filing says.
Family Seeks Damages Through Jury Trial
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages tied to physical injuries, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and related costs.
The complaint also includes a demand for a jury trial in Ocean County Superior Court.
The case was filed May 11, 2026, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Ocean County, under docket number OCN-L-001369-26.
