Los Angeles Unified School District Set to Pay $9,500,000 to Family After Wrongful Death of 12-Year-Old Student
On March 6, 2018, a 12-year-old student at Dodson Middle School, which is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), was participating in a physical exercise (P.E.) class that two P.E. teachers were supervising. After completing a mile run across the school track, he fell unconscious shortly after.
Time is of the essence in these circumstances due to the brain’s sensitivity to the lack of oxygen. Generally, the accepted practice requires that upon discovering someone in his condition:
- 911 should be called immediately
- An Automated External Defibrillator (AED), if available, should be applied right away
- The person should be assessed immediately for cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Evidence uncovered during litigation showed that 911 was not called for many minutes because the teachers believed they were not allowed to make such calls themselves. Instead, they were required to notify the front office to ask the administration to make the call. That resulted in a delay of at least six minutes in calling 911. Plus, it delayed communication between the 911 operator who spoke with the front office first, rather than with the teacher in the field with the student. Direct contact would have allowed the 911 operator to talk the person with the student through proper steps while awaiting the paramedics’ arrival.
If a teacher performed CPR, it didn’t start until many minutes after the boy was found unconscious. Evidence also demonstrated that a district employee didn’t bring an AED immediately and that once the lifesaving device arrived many minutes later, no one used it. Evidence also showed that the school nurse did not even know that the school had an AED, even though she was the person designated to inspect it daily.
Autopsy results showed that the student had an undiagnosed congenital heart anomaly that was readily treatable if the school had provided a proper emergency response. When the paramedics arrived at the scene after the delayed 911 call, help came too late to revive the student. The paramedics concluded that no CPR had been performed before their arrival. The student was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Christian T.F. Nickerson, of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, represented Festus Alagba’s family during this wrongful death case against the Los Angeles Unified School District. Los Angeles Unified School District has settled with the family for $9,500,000.
