Johnson v. School District of Millard

Robbie Johnson (plaintiff) was a first grader at Willa Cather Elementary School who was injured during his music class. Johnson’s teacher, Nancy Patton, taught the class the song “London Bridge” and its associated game. The game consisted of two children linking their arms together to form a bridge. The children lowered the bridge around a third child and rocked the third participant back and forth to the music. Patton taught the children how to sing the song and picked two students to demonstrate the bridge formation. Patton instructed the children not to act silly, yell, or swing their arms too much. Patton then allowed the children to play the game on their own while she turned her back to write on the board. The students had never played the game before, and Johnson was the first student to be inside the arm bridge. Johnson was swung fast and hard by his classmates, called out for help, and asked the children to stop. Johnson’s classmates accidentally released their arms and threw Johnson into a bookcase. Johnson hit his head, causing a large head wound, blurry vision, and chronic headaches. Johnson’s family filed suit in a Nebraska trial court against the School District of Millard (defendant) for Patton’s negligence. Johnson claimed that Patton negligently failed to properly supervise the students in her care, causing Johnson’s injury. The trial court found that Patton negligently failed to directly supervise the children during the early parts of the game and thereby caused Johnson’s injury. The trial court ruled in favor of Johnson, and the school district appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.