The parents of 13-year-old Joshua Poole have filed a West Palm Beach Florida injuries to a minor lawsuit against the Palm Beach County school district. Poole, a Jeaga Middle School student, says he was beaten during math class last month. A classmate recorded the fight on a cell phone.
In the cell phone footage, Poole’s classmate is shown approaching him at his desk. Thompson then proceeds to punch him for several seconds. The boys fall to the floor. The footage doesn’t show a teacher coming to intervene.
Poole says the attack lasted about 15 minutes and that he was beaten for about 7 minutes. His father, Clarence Poole, says that his son has been the target of bullying for some time now and that they had gone to the school three times to complain.
Meantime, Thompson contends that it was Poole who provoked him into the fight. He claims that the 13-year-old had pushed him, causing injury to his arm, which is in a cast.
Both students parents are in agreement that the teacher failed to do enough to stop the fight. The school, however, claims that proper procedures were followed. According to the school district, the teacher, Donald Charbonneau, activated the call button in the classroom when the fight started. He then went to the hallway to get help.
Violence in schools continue to be a problem at schools throughout the US. There are steps that school officials can take to decrease the chances that a student will be bullied, assaulted, raped, sexually assaulted, molested or murdered. Too many children have already suffered serious and even fatal injuries because of violence in schools.
In addition to providing adequate security and instituting proper procedures and rules to decrease the chances that a student will become the victim of assault or another violent crime, schools and their districts are also supposed to make sure there aren’t hazards on the premise that could result in catastrophic injuries. Schools can be held liable for Palm Beach personal injury to a child if their negligence or carelessness contributed to or allowed the injuries and/or accident to happen.
Classroom Beating: Florida Student Gets Pummeled While Teacher Sits Back, ABC News, December 1, 2010
Attorney shows video proof his client, 13, was bullied at Jeaga Middle; boy afraid to return to school, Palm Beach Post, November 29, 2010
Parents Of Teen Attacked In Class To Sue School District, WBPF, November 29, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Palm Beach County School District
School Bullying, Psychology Today