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the staff of the Ridgewood blog
WALLINGTON, NJ — A Bergen County mother has filed a lawsuit against the Wallington Borough, Wallington School District, and a cheerleading coach, claiming negligence after her daughter suffered a severe injury during cheerleading practice in August 2024.
The lawsuit, filed in Bergen County Superior Court in late June 2025, alleges that the school district and coach failed to provide proper supervision and safety protocols, resulting in serious and permanent injuries to the student.
📍 Incident Details
According to the lawsuit, the cheerleading injury occurred on a recreational field at Wallington Junior High School. The mother alleges that coach Jennifer Picciano left the team under the supervision of a 15-year-old student, violating her duty to ensure safe practice conditions.
“As a result of this abdication of her duties without adequate adult supervision or safety protocols, the cheerleading squad engaged in a cheer drill involving a human pyramid,” the complaint states.
The plaintiff’s daughter, positioned at the top of the pyramid, fell and fractured her upper arm, requiring surgery and extensive medical treatment.
⚖️ Legal Claims
The suit accuses:
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Coach Jennifer Picciano of negligence and negligent supervision
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The Wallington School District and Borough of Wallington of:
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Negligent hiring, training, and retention
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Respondeat superior (holding an employer responsible for actions of its employee)
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The family is seeking:
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Compensatory damages
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Past and future medical expenses
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Legal costs
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Pre- and post-judgment interest
🔍 Responses & Statements
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Wallington Borough Administrator Jennifer Appice confirmed the case has been referred to legal counsel for review.
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Superintendent Yvette Lozanski and the family’s attorney, Peter Kapitonov, declined to comment.
🧠 Why This Matters
This case underscores growing concerns around youth sports safety, particularly in cheerleading, which has become one of the most injury-prone high school activities in the U.S. The outcome could impact school district liability standards and youth coaching protocols statewide.
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A broken arm certainly sucks, but “severe” is pushing it and “permanent” is highly doubtful. Family just looking for $$$. Accidents are you going to happen all the time, you can take certain steps to less the chances, but it is a risk! Kids and parents know this and sometimes just have to deal with the consequences.
Leaving a 15 year old in charge of a cheerleading practice is negligent on the part of the coach whom the district hired and whose actions it is responsible for. Of course the family is seeking and should receive money – there might be big medical expenses they have to deal with. The family shouldn’t have to pay for that when they entrusted the district to keep their daughter safe and it failed them. And think of the unnecessary pain and suffering this girl has had to endure. This kind of accident isn’t an every day thing and probably would never have happened if the coach had been doing her job instead getting paid for work she made a 15 year old do. How irresponsible.
I think you mean the coach and school district needs to deal with the consequences of their negligence. Fixing a broken arm costs money. So of course the family wants money for that. Duh.