Clark County, NV – Attorneys from Arias Sanguinetti announced the United States District Court for Nevada approved the largest settlement against a school district in the history of Clark County, after the county agreed to a settlement of $9.95 million in a case involving the severe physical and emotional abuse of a student living with autism.
Originally filed in 2019, the parents of J.W. (who remains anonymous due to the nature of the abuse and his status as a minor) filed a lawsuit alleging claims of:
- Assault
- Battery
- Negligence
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- ADA violations
- And more
“After years of litigation, the family is grateful that the legal aspect of this matter is now at an end,” said Gregg Hubley, Arias Sanguinetti Partner. “The trauma and pain that J.W. and his parents had to endure, not just from the abuse but from the foot dragging by the school district will last for years to come, however. We hope the district will put a plan in place so that this harm never comes to another family ever again.”
J.W. is a non-verbal, autistic child who received special education at Harley Harmon Elementary School between 2016 and 2018. In 2017, J.W.’s parents notified the school principal that their son was not getting the food and water they were sending to school for him, and also expressed concerns that he was being sent home with a full diaper. School officials first ignored J.W.’s parents, then made excuses, and finally castigated and insulted J.W.’s parents. J.W.’s parents removed him from school for the duration of the 2016/17 school year as a result of these concerns and then re-enrolled him for the 2017/18 year.
However, during the 2017/18 school year, J.W.’s parents began to notice bruising on his body. When they addressed this with the teacher and classroom aides, they were told over and over that it was because he’d fallen on the playground. In May of 2018, a substitute aide was assigned to the class. After only 3 days in the classroom, this substitute aide prepared a written report claiming that J.W.’s regular teacher physically and verbally abused J.W., yelled at him, and degraded him. The report said that his regular teacher hit J.W. with a pointer stick so hard that the stick broke, wedged him into a tight space as punishment, forced him to lay at the teacher’s feet under her desk, and caused him to fall to the ground.
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This report was handed to the school’s principal who informed her supervisor in the Employee Relations Management (“ERM”) Department, and called Clark County School District (CCSD) Police as well as Child Protective Services (CPS). CCSD Police and CPS did a full investigation of the events and found that the teacher admitted to much of the alleged behavior. The school nurse also examined J.W. and found bruises on his ankles. Police concluded there was evidence for one count of child abuse against the teacher. The principal informed J.W.’s parents that the teacher was observed hitting J.W. with the pointer stick on one occasion, but did not tell them any of the other details reported by the substitute aide. The school district officials concealed the report of the substitute aide from J.W.’s parents for years. J.W.’s parents did not learn the extent of abuse and degradation suffered by the child until the federal court ordered the school district to provide the substitute aide’s report to J.W.’s parents years after the abuse.
“I’m proud our firm once again stood for justice on behalf of a family that had no place else to turn,” said managing partner Mike Arias. “This child never should have been subjected to any form of abuse, and this family should not have had to jump through so many hoops to get the answers they deserved.”
The case name is J.W. v. Clark County School District, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, Case No. 2:19-cv-00965.
About Arias Sanguinetti
With offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, Arias Sanguinetti has a long history of successfully representing individuals who have been injured through no fault of their own. The firm’s attorneys are recognized by peer organizations and legal publications for their work on behalf of clients in Nevada, California, and throughout the country. The firm’s attorneys are also leaders in several prominent legal organizations and have obtained more than $1.5 billion on behalf of clients. Arias Sanguinetti’s Las Vegas office represents people in personal injury, medical malpractice and elder abuse cases.
Publications have reported on the settlement:
- https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/federal-court-approves-largest-settlement-against-clark-county-school-district-in-history/article_d7d86b29-aa79-5754-a05b-d8f74d0d655e.html
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/federal-court-approves-largest-settlement-against-clark-county-school-district-in-history-302181743.html
- https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/ccsd-to-pay-10m-settlement-after-abuse-of-child-with-autism/
- https://news3lv.com/news/local/federal-judge-approves-10m-settlement-las-vegas-student-struck-by-teach-ccsd-southern-nevada-clark-county-schools-autism-special-needs
- https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/379454-arias-sanguinetti-wins-nearly-10m-for-parents-of-abused-las-vegas-student
- https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/education/judge-oks-10m-settlement-for-autistic-student-abused-by-ccsd-teacher-3074028/
