A parent-volunteer coach of a high school cheerleading squad is not liable for the head injury suffered by one of the cheerleaders while trying out a new stunt, says an appellate court, in reversing a lower court ruling.

Coach Sally Loftus had resisted for several months introducing a new stunt to the cheerleading squad at Iroquois High School in Erie, Pa., before finally agreeing in March 2004, according to Thursday's ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in Heather Hinterberger v. Iroquois School District; Sally Loftus.

The stunt, called the twist down cradle, involved Ms. Hinterberger, who was a freshman, being thrown into the air by four teammates, known as the base, doing one full body rotation, and then being caught.

It was being practiced in a room that had a high ceiling, but a floor that likely consisted of concrete covered by industrial grade carpeting with little or no padding, according to the ruling.

Ms. Loftus asked a cheerleader experienced in the stunt to demonstrate it. She also had six to eight spotters positioned on the perimeter of Ms. Hinterberger's base in case the base failed to catch the cheerleader.

After performing the stunt successfully at least five times, Ms. Hinterberger flew over and outside of her base and the spotters, striking her left hip, left shoulder and head on the floor, and suffered a severe head injury, according to the ruling. There was no matting at the floor at the time of the accident.

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Ms. Hinterberger filed suit against the school district and Ms. Loftus. The federal district court in Erie granted the school district summary judgment dismissing the case, but held Ms. Loftus was not entitled to qualified immunity.

A three-judge panel disagreed about Ms. Loftus' immunity in its unanimous ruling. “No published opinion of this court has found that a state-created danger arises when coaches fail to take certain precautions in athletic practice or in any analogous situation,” said the ruling.

“Cases from other courts of appeals also do not support Hinterberger's claim that her alleged constitutional right was clearly established as of March 2004,” it said.

“It was not 'beyond debate' as of March 2004 that Loftus' decision to introduce a new cheerleading stunt following a delay of several months, through the instruction of an experienced cheerleader, with the use of multiple spotters, but without any matting, violated Hinterberger's substantive due process rights,” said the ruling.

“We fully recognize the tragic nature of Hinterberger's injury and the fact that more might have been done to prevent it,” added the ruling.

In reversing the lower court ruling, it concluded however, that “as Hinterberger's alleged right was not clearly established at the time of her injury, Loftus is entitled to qualified immunity from suit.”