PARENTS SUE OVER STUDENT'S DEATH; COUPLE CLAIMS SCHOOL TRACK LED TO ACCIDENT.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

The Hart High School field where pole vaulter Heath Taylor was mortally injured last year wasn't suitably protected with padding, creating a dangerous condition, a lawsuit against the school district alleges.

It has been a year since the 17-year-old athlete died after completing a vault during track team practice. The boy's parents, Gail and Carl Taylor, filed a civil suit in December against the William S. Hart Union High School District, contending wrongful death, negligent supervision and dangerous condition of public property.

Six months after Taylor died on April 29, 1997, his parents filed a claim against the school district. That claim, submitted to the district Oct. 14, was rejected, prompting the Taylors to seek remedy in the civil courts.

``The property was in a dangerous condition that created a substantial risk of injury,'' the plaintiffs said in the complaint, filed Dec. 9 in North Valley Superior Court. ``Heath Taylor was killed as a direct and legal result of the dangerous and defective condition of the premises.''

The suit makes direct mention of the ``exposed asphalt runway'' on which Taylor hit his head after landing on the pole vault mat and then sliding headfirst off the back edge.

``The William S. Hart Union High School District failed to ensure that the exposed asphalt upon which (Taylor) struck his head was padded or cushioned in accordance with recognized rules and standards,'' the suit said.

``The defendants . . . should have known of (the) dangerous condition a sufficient time prior to the time of the accident . . . so as to have taken measures to protect against (the) dangerous condition.''

The Taylors seek general damages of an unspecified dollar amount, along with reimbursement of funeral expenses and medical bills their son incurred.

Under the negligent supervision portion of the lawsuit, the plaintiffs single out - not by name, but by job title - the Hart High track coach and the pole vault coach.

High school boys use poles ranging from 11 feet to 14 feet long in the pole vault, according to Skip Stolley, director of coaching programs for the Amateur Athletic Foundation in Los Angeles.

Vaulters are assigned poles based on their height, weight, age and skill level in the event, Stolley said. Taylor, who was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 135 pounds, was on the Hart High varsity squad, competing in the pole vault for his second season.

Information about the size and weight rating of the pole he used was unavailable.

Lawrence Grassini, the attorney representing Gail and Carl Taylor, said the school district was directed to take the pole out of use and preserve it as evidence to be offered at trial.

``I represent two parents who lost their child during a track practice. Only someone who has lost a child can understand that loss,'' Grassini said. ``That's something you never get over.''

Grassini said the Taylor family filed suit, in part, to prevent future fatal pole vaulting accidents.

``One of the things that they're hoping to do is to put Hart and other school districts on notice of the requirements that a school district has to provide safe facilities for these students,'' Grassini said.

``They don't ever want someone to go through what they've gone through. In memory of Heath, they want Hart and other school districts to take a look at the manner in which they handle pole vaulting at their schools.''