Lawyers for Newport News Public Schools had tried to block the lawsuit, arguing that Zwerner was eligible only for workers’ compensation. It provides up to nearly 10 years pay and lifetime medical care for injuries.
Zwerner’s attorneys countered that workers’ compensation doesn’t apply because a first-grade teacher would never anticipate getting shot: “It was not an actual risk of her job.”
This is the good bit though:
“The actual risk of employment in this scenario is that of a teacher being injured at the hands of a student which, unfortunately, is a fairly common occurrence and one that is only increasing in frequency this day and age,” school board attorney Anne Lahren said in a statement.
IIRC the teacher expressed concerns about the student having a gun, and the school administration said something like, "he has tiny pockets! a gun can't fit in tiny pockets" and she got shot like less than an hour later. I used quotations but it's not an exact quote.
The administrator downplayed the report from the teacher and the possibility of a gun, saying — and I quote — ‘Well, he has little pockets,’ ”
Shortly after 1 p.m., another teacher told an administrator that a different student who was “crying and fearful” said the boy showed him the gun during recess and threatened to shoot him if he told anyone. Again, no action was taken, she said.
When another employee who had heard the boy might have a gun asked an administrator to search the boy, he was turned down, Toscano said. “He was told to wait the situation out because the school day was almost over,” she said.
Can we just get whoever these chucklefucks are and ask them why they were so unconcerned with the fact that three different people came to them talking about a 6 year old they're in charge of being seen with a gun?? Isn't the normal response to ONE person telling you about a child being seen with a gun on school grounds to actually investigate whatever is going on?
Like the school district is going to be able to pay out $40 million.
Point being, the school district will shoulder all the consequences, or just declare bankruptcy, all at the expense of the taxpayers and the students and teachers that all of those taxes are supposed to be going to, while the actual people that made reckless and criminal decisions face almost no personal consequences.
Not in a civil suit. They were working in their position as the legal authority of the school, making decisions in that role and not as private citizens.
No, they need individual punishmemt, too. Same with cops. Same with business executives. They all hide behind their position and avoid personal consequences. Like the south park "we're sorry" episode mocking BP?
We need to be holding individuals accountable when the institution let's things happen. It's the only real way to get bad people out of power.
I just read the article, she's suing the school because she claims administrators ignored reports the kid had a gun as well as a history of "troubling behavior"
Wtf are the kid's parents doing? Like, how does a 6 year old smuggle a loaded weapon out of the house? And why would they even have that in the house? (I know it's in the US, that last question was more of a rethorical one.)
From what I remember about this case the mother had terrible gun safety (obviously) and the child was mirroring terrible behaviors he'd seen from the father. The father has been accused of aiming a gun at an extra [ex]girlfriend and attempting to choke out another.