#NYC DOE wrestling coach gave 11-year-old concussion: court papers

A Manhattan dad alleges a middle school wrestling instructor gave his 11-year-old son a concussion by slamming the boy onto the ground, court papers show.

Saul Lalic says his son — referred to in the case by his initials D.L. — was chosen by his Morton Middle School afterschool wrestling coach, Elijah Singh, to demonstrate a maneuver on Nov. 15, 2019.

The coach, who is also a teacher at the school, allegedly placed the 100-pound boy “in a hold and then inexplicably picked him up and slammed him to the floor below, ” according to a Manhattan Supreme Court petition.

“In the process, my son’s head struck an area of flooring that did not have any protective padding,” the court papers claim.

The case is seeking to make a minor correction to Lalic’s February $2.25 million notice of claim filed with the city Comptroller’s office — a legal prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against the city.

But, Lalic’s lawyer Richard Kenny told The Post that the dad still hasn’t decided whether he will eventually go forward with a lawsuit.

Lalic — who lives with his son in the Flatiron District — said the boy “sustained severe, serious and permanent injuries, including a concussion and post-concussion syndrome,” according to the Notice of Claim.

Kenny said the boy experiences, “Nausea, aches, dizziness, vertigo … and an aversion to light.”

“He still suffers from this,” Kenny said noting the boy’s doctor referred to a concussion as an “invisible injury.”

“He was a black belt in karate and he stopped all karate activities immediately,” Kenny said. “Now he has a fear of something similar happening.”

Kenny told The Post his client filed the notice of claim because he “didn’t want this to occur to another kid.”

Singh allegedly “fully exerted all that force on him. I find it hard as a parent to believe that a teacher would be that silly,” Kenny said.

“At the time he was a wisp of a young man and he was picked up and essentially body slammed,” Kenny said. “There was no malice here. It was gross negligence.”

The city Law Department declined to comment. Singh and the DOE both did not immediately return requests for comment.