$9.95 Million
J.W. v. Clark County School District
Civil Rights,Personal Injury,School Abuse
Attorneys: Mike Arias, Gregg A. Hubley, Christopher A.J. Swift
Case Synopsis
Arias Sanguinetti secured a $9.95 million settlement on behalf of J.W., a non-verbal autistic child who was physically and emotionally abused by his teacher at a Clark County elementary school. This is the largest known settlement against a school district in the history of Clark County, Nevada.
J.W. attended Harley Harmon Elementary School from 2016 to 2018. In 2017, his parents raised concerns that he was returning home in soiled diapers and being denied food and water. Their complaints were ignored and dismissed by school officials. The following school year, they began noticing unexplained bruises on J.W., which were consistently blamed on playground falls.
In May 2018, a substitute aide witnessed the abuse firsthand. Her written report described the teacher striking J.W. with a wooden pointer stick—breaking it across his ankles—forcing him into confined spaces, and making him lie under her desk. The teacher later admitted to much of this conduct during a CCSD investigation.
J.W.’s parents were kept in the dark for years. The full report detailing the abuse was withheld until a federal court forced the district to release it. This settlement brings long-overdue recognition of the harm their child suffered.
"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."
