Ex-Student Seeks $75K for 'Musical Chairs Injury'

Robin Earnest says game left her with broken fingers
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2015 5:40 PM CDT
Ex-Student Seeks $75K for 'Musical Chairs Injury'
   (Shutterstock)

Musical chairs, anyone? An Arkansas woman accepted just such an offer at her old college and broke two fingers during the classroom game. Now she's seeking $75,000 from the state in damages, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Robin Earnest, 46, sustained the injury in 2011 at College of the Ouachitas and made her case before the Arkansas Claims Commission on Thursday. She told the commission that she's undergone years of emotional and mental distress, physical therapy, and surgeries as a result of the broken fingers. Not only that, she says, but her teacher neglected to abide by the rules of musical chairs when she had six people vie for two chairs during the "motivation exercise."

Earnest claims she was pushed during the exercise and felt pain "instantly" when her hand slammed against a metal chair. The college paid Earnest's medical bill at the time, and the teacher says Earnest told her about two weeks later that she had injured her fingers again when a door slammed on them. But Earnest and her husband—who receive federal disability and support their family with state payments—deny the door-slam story. The commission is yet to rule on her claim. On the lighter side, a YouTube video of baby pygmy goats playing what looks like musical chairs on logs has gone viral, CBS News reports. And it appears no injuries were sustained during the game. (More injury stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X