CJ-2026-00019 - Hannah C. Cook v. Fairview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 84

What's This Case About?

Let’s be real: you don’t expect to get bludgeoned by a tablet while watching a high school football game. But for Hannah C. Cook, that’s exactly how her Friday night took a turn from “mildly exciting small-town rivalry” to “I need a neurologist and possibly a lawyer.” One minute she’s just another parent in the bleachers, maybe sipping lukewarm coffee and cheering for… well, someone — and the next, she’s getting clocked in the head by a flying iPad like she’s in some kind of dystopian comedy sketch about the perils of modern technology. And now? Now there’s a lawsuit. Because of course there is.

Hannah C. Cook, an Oklahoma resident with no known prior grudge against tablets or teenagers, was simply doing what normal people do on a fall evening: attending a high school football game. Specifically, the showdown between Fairview Public Schools (Independent School District No. 84) and Cashion Public Schools (Independent School District No. 89), hosted at Fairview’s stadium in Major County. It was supposed to be a night of marching bands, questionable nacho cheese, and maybe a few awkward run-ins with people you haven’t seen since 2003. Instead, it became the night Hannah became an unwilling participant in what might be the most absurd act of airborne gadget violence in recent legal history.

Here’s how the dominoes fell: somewhere above the stands — likely in the press box, coaching area, or some elevated zone where adults in windbreakers make tactical decisions about teenage running backs — a representative of Cashion Public Schools (identity currently unknown, hence the dramatic placeholder name John Doe) was using a tablet. Probably for scorekeeping. Or play analysis. Or maybe just scrolling through Instagram between quarters. We don’t know. What we do know is that this person — employee, coach, or otherwise — failed to maintain basic control of their electronic equipment, allowing it to plummet from the heavens like a metallic anvil in a Looney Tunes cartoon. And right into Hannah Cook’s skull.

The filing doesn’t say whether the tablet exploded on impact or just bounced off and landed in someone’s popcorn, but the consequences were serious enough: traumatic brain injury, pain, suffering, lost wages, and ongoing medical treatment. All because someone didn’t have a lanyard. Or a grip. Or common sense. And here’s where things get legally spicy: Hannah isn’t just suing the mystery tablet-dropper. She’s suing both school districts — Fairview, the host, and Cashion, the employer of the alleged digital assassin — for negligence. That’s right. Two entire public school systems are now on the hook because one of their staff members apparently thought gravity was optional.

So what’s the actual legal beef? Let’s break it down without the legalese. Count One says: Cashion Public Schools should be held responsible because their employee — John Doe — was acting within the scope of his job when he turned a tablet into a projectile. Under the legal concept of respondeat superior (fancy Latin for “the boss pays for the employee’s mess”), if someone screws up while doing their job, the employer can be liable. So even if John Doe was just some overworked assistant coach who fumbled his iPad while yelling at a referee, Cashion could still be on the hook. And John Doe? He’s also named individually, meaning Hannah’s legal team wants to make sure someone answers for the faceplant of technology.

Count Two shifts the blame to Fairview Public Schools — not for dropping the tablet, but for failing to prevent it. See, as the property owner and event host, Fairview had a duty to keep spectators safe. That includes making sure areas above the stands aren’t death traps filled with loose tablets, water bottles, or rogue spirit sticks. According to the petition, Fairview allegedly failed in multiple ways: no safety protocols for electronic devices in elevated areas, inadequate supervision of visiting staff, and a general lack of hazard control. In other words, they didn’t treat the stadium like a place where humans gather — they treated it like a Wild West frontier where anything could fall from the sky and nobody’s responsible.

Now, you might be thinking: “$10,000? That’s it?” And yes, on paper, the damages sought are “in excess of $10,000.” For a traumatic brain injury, that sounds… low. Almost insultingly modest. But here’s the thing: in Oklahoma, small claims court caps at $10,000. This case is filed in district court, which means Hannah’s team is likely using that number as a procedural threshold — not a final valuation. The actual damages? They’re still being calculated, and the filing makes clear she’s still in treatment, still losing wages, and still dealing with long-term effects. So $10,000 isn’t the real ask — it’s the legal minimum to get the case heard. The real price tag could be much higher once medical bills, future care, and pain and suffering are tallied.

And yet, for all the seriousness of a brain injury, the absurdity of the situation is impossible to ignore. This isn’t a case about a reckless driver or a defective product — it’s about a dropped tablet at a high school game. It’s the kind of story that starts with “You’re not going to believe this…” and ends with someone muttering, “I told you we should’ve banned iPads from the press box.” The image of a flying tablet striking an innocent bystander in the middle of a football game is so bizarre, so perfectly petty civil court, that it feels like satire. But the injury is real. The medical bills are real. And the fact that we now have to litigate whether a school district should’ve anticipated tablet fallout is, somehow, also real.

Our take? We’re equal parts horrified and weirdly impressed. On one hand: nobody should suffer a brain injury because a coach couldn’t hold onto their tech. On the other: the sheer specificity of this incident — the perfect storm of bad grip, bad judgment, and bad structural oversight — is the kind of thing that belongs in a museum of human misadventures. Are we rooting for Hannah? Absolutely. She was minding her business, supporting local youth athletics, and got turned into a cautionary tale. Do we wish this case didn’t have to exist? Profoundly. But also — and we say this with the utmost respect — if you’re going to bring a tablet to a football game, at least use a case with a strap. Or, better yet, a notebook. They don’t fly. They don’t break. And they definitely don’t sue you.

Case Overview

$10,000 Demand Petition

Jurisdiction

District Court of Major County, Oklahoma

Filing Attorney

Matthew C. Russell

Riffel, Riffel, and Benham Law Firm, PLLC

Relief Sought

$10,000 Monetary

Plaintiffs

Hannah C. Cook individual
Rep: Matthew C. Russell of Riffel, Riffel, and Benham, PLLC

Defendants

Fairview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 84 business
Cashion Public Schools, Independent School District No. 89 business
John Doe individual

Claims

#	Cause of Action	Description
1	negligence	Plaintiff was struck by a falling tablet at a football game and suffered injuries.
2	negligence	Defendant Fairview Public Schools failed to maintain a safe premises and protect spectators from foreseeable harm.

Petition Text

1,166 words

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF MAJOR COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA HANNAH C. COOK, Plaintiff, vs. FAIRVIEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 84; CASHION PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 89; and JOHN DOE, in his individual capacity, Defendants. PETITION COMES NOW the Plaintiff, Hannah C. Cook, by and through counsel, Matthew C. Russell of Riffel, Riffel, and Benham, PLLC, and for her cause of action against the Defendants, Fairview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 84 (hereinafter "Fairview"), Cashion Public Schools, Independent School District No. 89 (hereinafter "Cashion"), and John Doe, alleges and states as follows: PARTIES 1. Plaintiff, Hannah C. Cook, is a citizen and resident of the State of Oklahoma. 2. Defendant Fairview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 84, is a public school district located in Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma. 3. Defendant Cashion Public Schools, Independent School District No. 89, is a public school district located in Cashion, Logan County, Oklahoma. 4. Defendant John Doe is an individual whose true name is unknown at this time. Upon information and belief, John Doe is the agent, employee, coach, and/or representative of Defendant Cashion who dropped or caused the tablet to fall, striking the Plaintiff. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. Plaintiff’s claims arose out of an incident which occurred at a football game held at Fairview Public Schools in Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, on or about November 7, 2024. 6. Venue and jurisdiction are proper in this Court. GENERAL STATEMENT OF THE FACTS 7. On or about November 7, 2024, Plaintiff Hannah C. Cook was a spectator attending a football game at the Fairview Public Schools stadium in Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, between Fairview Public Schools and Cashion Public Schools (hereinafter the “Game”). 8. Defendant Fairview, as the host school, owned, operated, controlled, and was responsible for the maintenance and safety of the stadium premises, including the stands and spectator seating areas wherein the Game was held. 9. Agents, employees, coaches, and/or representatives of Defendant Cashion were present at the Game in an area of the stadium above the spectator stands where Plaintiff was seated. 10. John Doe, an agent, employee, coach, and/or representative of Defendant Cashion was using a tablet computer and/or electronic device (hereinafter “tablet”) in an area of the stadium above the spectator stands where Plaintiff was seated. 11. During the Game, a tablet fell, or was dropped, by John Doe from the area above where Plaintiff was seated in the spectator stands. 12. The tablet struck Plaintiff Hannah C. Cook in the head, causing her to sustain multiple serious injuries including but not limited to a traumatic brain injury which has caused her pain and suffering and lost wages and will likely cause future permanent and progressive pain and suffering and lost wages. 13. As a direct and proximate result of the incident, Plaintiff suffered multiple injuries and has incurred damages in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). Plaintiff continues to receive medical treatment for her injuries, and the full extent of her injuries, damages, lost wages, and medical expenses are still being determined. COUNT 1: NEGLIGENCE AGAINST CASHION PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 89, AND JOHN DOE 14. Paragraphs 1 through 13 are incorporated herein by reference. 15. At all times relevant hereto, the agent, employee, coach, and/or representative of Defendant Cashion who dropped or caused the tablet to fall was acting within the scope of his or her employment and/or agency with Defendant Cashion. 16. Defendant Cashion, by and through its agents, employees, coaches, and/or representatives, owed a duty of ordinary care to Plaintiff and to all persons foreseeably present in the spectator stands to safely handle, secure, and control electronic devices and other objects so as to prevent them from falling into the spectator areas below. 17. Defendant Cashion, by and through its agents, employees, coaches, and/or representatives, breached this duty of care by negligently, carelessly, and/or recklessly failing to safely handle, control, and secure a tablet computer, causing it to fall or be dropped from an elevated position above Plaintiff's seated location, striking Plaintiff in the head. 18. Defendant Cashion is vicariously liable for the negligent acts and omissions of its agents, employees, coaches, and/or representatives. 19. Defendant John Doe is also individually and directly liable for his or her negligent acts and omissions in dropping or causing the tablet to fall from the elevated area above Plaintiff's seated location, striking the Plaintiff and causing her injuries. 20. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendants Cashion and John Doe, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer bodily injury, pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses past and future, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages past and future and other damages in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). COUNT 2: NEGLIGENCE AGAINST FAIRVIEW PUBLIC SCHOOLS, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 84 21. Paragraphs 1 through 20 are incorporated herein by reference. 22. Defendant Fairview, as owner and operator of the stadium and premises where the Game was held, owed Plaintiff and all other spectators a duty of reasonable care to maintain the premises in reasonably safe conditions and to take reasonable precautions to protect spectators from foreseeable harm. 23. Defendant Fairview owed a duty of care to spectators and other attendees to exercise reasonable supervision over the premises, including over areas occupied by visiting team personnel, and to implement reasonable safety protocols to protect spectators from foreseeable risks of injury. 24. Defendant Fairview breached its duty of care including, but not limited to, the following respects: (a) failing to establish, implement, and enforce adequate safety protocols governing the presence and use of electronic devices and other objects in areas of the stadium above spectator seating; (b) failing to adequately supervise or control the actions of visiting coaches and personnel in areas of the stadium proximate to the spectator stands; (c) failing to take reasonable precautions to ensure that elevated areas above spectator seating were free from hazards; and/or (d) failing to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition for invitees, including spectators. 25. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Fairview’s negligence, Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer bodily injury, pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses past and future, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages past and future and other damages in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Hannah C. Cook, prays for judgment against the Defendants, Fairview Public Schools, Independent School District No. 84, Cashion Public Schools, Independent School District No. 89, and John Doe, jointly and severally, for an amount in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for bodily injury, pain and suffering past and future, mental anguish, medical expenses past and future, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages past and future, and all other damages allowable under Oklahoma law, together with interest at the statutory rate from the date of judgment, all court costs, a reasonable attorney’s fee to the extent permitted by law, and for all such other and further relief as this Court may deem lawful, just, and proper. Respectfully submitted, Matthew C. Russell, OBA #30239 Riffel, Riffel, and Benham Law Firm, PLLC 3517 W. Garriott, Suite One Enid, OK 73703 580/234-8447 Telephone 580/234-5547 Facsimile Attorneys for Plaintiff