Parents win $15m suit against LA school district after teachers failed to use defibrillator on son

A jury has awarded $15 million to the father of a 13-year-old Los Angeles student who died in 2016 after finding physical education teachers guilty of the child’s death.

The teen, referred to only as MT in court documents, died at Palms Middle School on April 25, 2016, after collapsing while jogging during a physical education class.

Staff members at the time said they attempted CPR on the youngster, but the effort proved ineffective in delivering enough oxygen to his heart and brain, effectively rendering the boy brain dead.

Under public school policy, the school reserved an automated external defibrillator (AED) for such recovery efforts in an office across the street — officials, however, failed to use the technology, leaving the boy languishing for a crucial 12 minutes before paramedics arrived .

For nearly six years, medical experts who testified for the boy’s father argued that using the AED device would have saved his son’s life. sum Friday, while the LA Unified School District is held liable for negligence.

Scroll down for video:

Lawyers led by civil rights attorney Gary Casselman argued that using the defibrillator would have saved the child’s life.

“Another hard-fought victory for our clients,” civil rights attorney Gary Casselman — who filed the wrongful death suit on behalf of the boy’s father in July 2017 — wrote in a Facebook post praising his team’s “years.” [sic] perseverance, [and] unwavering dedication.

Speaking to The Times, he added that while the boy’s family is “delighted that the jury has reached a verdict in their favour”, they are “devastated by the loss of their son”.

“Nothing is going to bring him back, but they wanted accountability from the district,” attorney Casselman told The LA Times Friday about the verdict, after the case finally went to trial last week.

Casselman, along with fellow attorney Haytham Faraj, had argued in court documents that the physical education staffer abandoned the youngster when he collapsed during school hours, citing how LAUSD lawyers confirmed that the boy had a pre-existing medical condition that is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The condition occurs in individuals whose heart muscle is thicker than normal, making it more difficult for the heart to pump blood.

Lawyer tapped to represent the district, but insisted that neither CPR nor the use of an AED would have been enough to return his heart function to normal, citing his condition.

“In fact, at the time of his collapse, there was nothing … directly on the school grounds that could resuscitate the deceased,” the defense wrote in part of the now-resolved lawsuit.

Of the several teachers who rushed to the boy’s aid, none thought to track down an AED device that likely could have saved his life – despite it being located in a pre-designated spot on the school grounds.

Officials arrived at the scene about 12 minutes after the boy collapsed, during which time the child was not getting the necessary oxygen to supply his vital organs. By the time they arrived, the boy was so deprived of oxygen that he was effectively brain dead

They further claimed that multiple teachers attended to the boy and tried to resuscitate him as best they could before he was hospitalized – only to die two days later.

But of the several teachers who rushed to the boy’s aid, none thought to track down an AED device that likely could have saved his life — despite it being located in a pre-designated spot in the school’s front office.

Defense testimony at last week’s proceedings alleged that it was due to the fact that the school’s principal was not notified of the device’s existence, despite the presence of the defibrillator being prohibited under district policy. used to be.

The client is responsible for informing all employees of the existence of the defibrillator, something that apparently did not happen on the day of the incident.

Emergency medical personnel arrived about 12 minutes after the boy collapsed, during which time the child was not receiving the necessary oxygen to supply his vital organs.

By the time first responders arrived, the boy was so deprived of oxygen that he was effectively brain dead, testimonies showed.

The lawsuit is only the latest filed by parents whose children have died while attending a public school. they thought he was just playing dead for fun.

Like the lawsuit in LA, the youngster’s next of kin argued that the youngster, Romeo Pierre Louis, would have been alive had the school not been negligent.

That lawsuit is currently making its way through the Connecticut courts.

DailyMail.com has reached out to attorney Gary Casselman for comment on the more recent case.