Our Boston injury lawyers represent children who have been injured because of the negligence of others. Sometimes the injury or death is accidental, such as during a Massachusetts car crash or because of a defective or dangerous product and although negligence may have been a factor, the other party usually never intended to cause any harm. With some cases, however, the harm inflicted is intentional-even if is not to the degree that the victim actually ended up getting hurt.
One cause of child injury that has been around for awhile but is now only being seriously acknowledge as a threat to kids’ safety is bully. Now, while bullies may have always been figures to fear at school, in recent years, the emotional and physical violence inflicted by fellow peers has proven catastrophic. For example, there was the 2010 suicide of Phoebe Prince, a high school student who killed herself after her schoolmates bullied her mercilessly in person and via the Internet. A Massachusetts wrongful death settlement was reached between her family and the school district last year.
This week, one bullying survivor arrived at $4.2 million personal injury settlement with another school district over a 2006 incident that left him a paraplegic. Sawyer Rosenstein was just 12 when a bully punched him in the stomach. The assault created a clot in his artery, which caused him to become paralyzed from the waist down. Rosenstein is now 18.
This was not the first time that the bully had gone after him, and he had even sent an email to school officials asking for help as far back as at least three months prior to the catastrophic assault. In Rosenstein’s personal injury lawsuit, he accused district officials of not complying with anti-bullying laws, which required them to put into place procedures to prevent bullying and resolve any incidents that did happen. The school only suspended the bully for a few days, but Rosenstein reached a confidential injury settlement with him and his family.
School Pays $4.2M For School Bully’s Punch, Reuters, April 18, 2012
Stop Bullying
More Blog Posts:
Hampshire County, Massachusetts Lawsuit in Phoebe Prince’s Bullying Settled for $225K, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, December 31, 2011
Are Massachusetts Schools Doing Enough to Prevent Student Violence?, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, February 29, 2012
Andover High School Confirms Hazing Allegations, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, November 30, 2011