PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia woman is suing a local Baptist church and its affiliated private school, after her young daughter was allegedly jumped in the hallway by a group of students and seriously injured.
Anette Mercado (in her own right and as parent and natural guardian of minor plaintiff A.M.) of Philadelphia filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 8 versus Holmesburg Christian Academy and Holmesburg Baptist Church, both also of Philadelphia.
“At the time of the harm, while minor-plaintiff A.M. was in the care and custody of the defendants, she was left unsupervised in a hallway of HCA with other minor age students, without any adult supervision. The nearest adult employee of the defendants was in a classroom behind closed doors, without the ability to see or monitor the children in the hallway. The unsupervised children were left unsupervised to wander around the premises. At that time, at least two of the other children harmed A.M. by slamming a heavy door against A.M.’s head, causing her to suffer severe and permanent injuries,” the suit explains.
According to the litigation, A.M. sustained serious physical injuries and emotional injuries resulting from said physical injuries, as well as independent emotional injuries, psychological injuries that resulted from this assault, as well as independent psychological injuries, resulting in pain, suffering, embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life and life’s pleasures.
“The defendants were negligent and careless by failing to supervise and/or failing to adequately supervise A.M.; failing to supervise and/or failing to adequately supervise the other minor children in the defendants’ care, especially after leaving A.M. alone and unsupervised with the other minor children; failing to take appropriate actions regarding the assaulting minors in the defendant’s care when the defendants knew or should have known of their past behavior and potential to harm other minor children,” the suit states, among a long list of negligence-related charges.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs believe the defendants failed to take reasonable and necessary steps to rescue A.M. after placing her in a perilous position; failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent further harm after rendering A.M. in danger of further harm; failed to take reasonable and necessary steps to obtain aid or assistance for A.M., after rendering her in danger of further harm; failed to take reasonable and necessary steps to prevent the delay in the appropriate care of A.M.; and violated the duties set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Torts, Sections 314(A), 321 & 322.
For counts of negligence and negligent failure to rescue against all defendants, the plaintiffs are seeking damages, individually, jointly, vicariously, severally and/or in the alternative for such damages, in excess of $50,000 plus interest thereon, costs of suit and attorneys’ fees.
The plaintiffs are represented by David P. Thiruselvam in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 171100540
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com