A school bullying lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the Hanover Area School District for an alleged physical attack against a student that resulted in a serious head injury. The plaintiff in this case is April L Biddinger, individually, and on behalf of her minor son (C.S), who accuses the school district of failing to protect her son. The suit was filed in the Pennsylvania Middle Court District. The plaintiff’s school bullying lawyer alleges that the school acted was aware of the impending attack but negligently failed to take appropriate action to prevent it.
According to the lawsuit, the bully made threats of impending physical attack against C.S. on Friday, April 1, 2022. The student immediately reported these threats to the high school principal and guidance counselor. The guidance counselor instructed the student to eat lunch alone in the library to avoid the bully. However, a high school co-principal refused to allow C.S. to eat lunch in the library.
The school principal and two co-principals met with both the student and the bully to discuss the threats. The bully claimed that he would not follow through with his threats, and the school took no additional action to investigate or remediate the threat of potential conflict.
The following Monday, the bully physically assaulted the student in the High School cafeteria during their shared lunch period. At the time of the attack, the student was walking to empty his lunch tray when the bully pushed him to ground and began punching him in the head. The staff members monitoring the cafeteria were not aware of the threats made by the bully and had no security training. The bully was able to land several direct, hard punches before the staff members were able to pull the bully off C.S.
The plaintiff states that C.S. suffered a concussion as the result of the attack and continues to experience severe and debilitating head aches and light sensitivity. Additionally, C.S. has exhibited signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, including nightmares, loss of interests, insomnia, and lack of concentration, necessitating treatment by licensed medical personnel and/or therapists.
A school bullying lawyer alleges that the defendant knew of the threat of the impending attack but failed to take steps to protect the student C.S. The plaintiff claims that defendant enabled the defendant to access C.S. during a shared lunch period despite the known threats and lack of necessary supervision, creating a dangerous situation. The lawsuit states that Hanover Area School District was aware of an uptick in violent physical attached among high school students but failed to address the culture of harassment and violence at the school. The claim states that the school was aware of a foreseeable risk of harm but ignored the danger and refused to take corrective measures to prevent the attack.
The lawsuit also alleges that the school district failed to provide adequate training and supervision for staff members and teachers regarding bullying and student-to-student violence and failed to implement safety procedures to prevent student violence, including adequate monitoring and security at the high school.
The school bullying lawyer for the plaintiff is seeking punitive damages, alleging that the defendant acted with deliberate indifference and in a manner that shocks the conscience.
If a child is being bulled or harassed at school, a school bullying lawyer recommends taking action to make the principal of the school aware of the situation. The parent should email the principal to explain the details of the harassment or threats and make a request for an in-person meeting as soon as feasible. Sending an email can serve as an important piece of evidence to document the specific date and time that the school was made aware of the bullying. The parent should then meet with school administrators to devise a plan to address the harassment and keep the child safe.
Contact a school bullying lawyer to learn about your legal options if your child was seriously injured by a school bully. We understand that school bullying can result in significant serious and emotional injuries. Our firm represents students and parents in lawsuits when a school fails to address bullying, and as a result, a child is injured.
The Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at the Wieand Law Firm represent individuals who are seriously injured due to someone else’s negligence. We offer a free consultation to help you learn about your legal options and understand how we may be able to help. Call 215-666-7777 or send us a message via the online form to speak directly with an attorney.
