PHILADELPHIA – A Chester County woman says that a local school district did not warn her that she was assigned to work with a student who had shown violent behavior, and as a result, that student attacked and injured her.
Hieshia Legrande of Phoenixville filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Jan. 7 versus Downingtown Area School District and Downingtown Area School Authority of Downingtown, plus Lionville Middle School, of Exton.
“Plaintiff was sent to defendant Lionville Middle School and subsequently assigned to help a 7th Grade student at the defendant school. Defendants knew or should have known of the student’s dangerous propensities, behavioral issues and violent tendencies. Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to warn or alert plaintiff of same,” the suit says.
“The student had a long history of being violent toward students, teachers, aides and others in the school, including tripping and causing injury to individuals within the school on many occasions. On or about Nov. 20, 2019, shortly after being assigned to the student, plaintiff was severely injured when the student tripped plaintiff, causing her to fall the ground. Defendants knew or should have known that the student would attempt to and would injure plaintiff based on numerous similar occurrences with others.”
Legrande maintains she was never warned about the student’s violence towards others, yet was told afterward by those working for defendants that the student was “very violent and often would trip and attack teachers and other aides” – and despite this, the defendants allegedly failed to act on such knowledge to prevent injury to plaintiff or anyone else prior to this incident.
As a result of the fall, Legrande says she suffered injuries to her right knee, left side, left shoulder, left shoulder tear, left wrist with carpal tunnel, left ulnar neuropathy and wrist derangement, low back with disc injuries and radiating pain with radicular symptoms.
“Defendants’ policies and procedures failed to require, but should have required, disclosure of the student’s behavioral and violent past to plaintiff who was directly assigned to him when it was or should have been known to defendants that the exact type of incident that occurred, had occurred previously,” per the suit.
“As a direct and proximate cause of the deliberate and/or reckless indifference of defendants, plaintiff suffered severe physical pain and suffering, humiliation, mental anguish, fear, physical injuries, economic loss, scarring and disfigurement.”
For counts of civil rights claims in violation of the 8th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, , the plaintiff is seeking, jointly and severally, compensatory damages in excess of $50,000, costs, attorneys’ fees and any other relief, including declaratory relief, that the acts of defendants were unconstitutional, plus a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Thomas F. Sacchetta of Sacchetta & Baldino, in Media.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:21-cv-00078
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com