The family of a former juvenile offender who suffered brain damage during an argument at the Cherokee County YMCA will be paid nearly half a million dollars in a settlement.
Attorneys for Cody Roszina accused the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta Inc. and its Cherokee facility of negligence after they say the then-juvenile offender and other offenders were left unsupervised in January 2008 and a youth struck Roszina in the head with an iron fire poker.
YMCA spokeswoman Kristen Obaranec said the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
"We do not believe the Y acted negligently," Obaranec said in an emailed response the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.
The YMCA had maintained it had immunity under Georgia law and also asserted Roszina had released the organization from personal injury claims. A state judge, however, denied the organization’s claims.
Roszina and his parents, Mark and Ann Roszina, will be paid $495,000 to settle the case, which was decided in mediation Sept. 13.
“The YMCA does good work, but was out of its element here, trying to make money hosting a juvenile offender program with no clue how to operate one.” said one of Roszina’s attorney, Mel Hewitt.
Obaranec said earlier this week that the program, arranged through the county's juvenile court, was discontinued in Cherokee in 2009. Youths in the program helped with maintenance, grounds upkeep and other chores, and received mentoring, she said.
While the YMCA was compensated by the county -- $600 a month but not to exceed $5,000 a year - the spokeswoman said the funds did not cover all the expenses the organization incurred.
"This was a one-time, completely freak and unforeseeable situation," Obaranec said of the 2008 incident. "That program had been in place for 10 years without any issues at all."
Obaranec said no other arrangement currently exists with metro Atlanta juvenile courts.
Cody Roszina’s mother had dropped him off at the Cherokee Outdoor YMCA in Woodstock as part of a sentence that included community service on the YMCA’s premises. Cody Roszina, who was age 17 at the time, had committed a "non-violent" offense, said another attorney, A. Lee Parks, although he wouldn't detail the crime.
After his supervisor, sheriff’s Deputy Ronnie Reece, left to get snacks, Cody got into an argument with another youth, who hit him in the head with the iron fire poker.
“Not only had the employee been grossly negligent in leaving the boys unsupervised for an extended period of time, there was also a complete lack of oversight over how the community service program was operated,” Parks said. “These factors combined to create a very dangerous situation for these kids.”
Obaranec, the YMCA spokeswoman, said youths were not unsupervised at the time of the altercation.
The Roszinas’ complaint said the YMCA was liable for having dangerous implements – the iron fire poker – where offenders could get them.
Obaranec said the poker was next to a large fireplace in the dining hall and there was no reason to remove the fireplace tools from the room.
Parks said the now-20-year-old Cherokee man still suffers from the brain injury. He has difficulty concentrating and and is not able to work. “It’s still an uphill battle,” Parks said.
The settlement, which also calls for the YMCA to pay Roszina's legal fees and mediation costs, will help pay for the man's medical care and occupational therapy, his attorney said.
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