A judge in Virginia has ruled that a teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in class can press forward with a $40 million lawsuit.

      • Nelots@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        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.

        • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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          11 months ago

          “It was not an actual risk of her job.”

          So they argued exactly the opposite…

          Also anyone who thinks that’s a “common occurrence” is delusional.

          • Nelots@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            No, sorry, I probably shouldn’t have included that part of the quote. Zwerner is the teacher that got shot, that’s her attorneys arguing that. The school is trying to claim it is an unfortunate but common occurrence.

  • robocall@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    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.

    • PatFusty@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      This is actually kind of hilarious, how do you fuck up this bad

      https://apnews.com/article/newport-news-school-shooting-a40dfad64388aadf1f90211177412522

      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.

      • cuibono@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        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?

      • Fisk400@feddit.nu
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        11 months ago

        I remember when a kid got suspended because he pointed a chicken nugget at a teacher and said bang…

    • cuibono@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      When you’ve got this level of stupidity in charge of those expected to educate the next generation, I think you may have already lost.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        11 months ago

        The school shirked it’s responsibilities. They will be paying, not the kid.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          11 months ago

          If American schools are supposed to stop school shootings they will be at it all day.

          • KredeSeraf@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            She warned them multiple times about issues and rumors of weapons. They did nothing. IIRC the child also had a decently long history of other issues. I would sue that school too.

  • JakenVeina@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    Forget the school, the individuals in the administration are the ones that need to be sued.

      • JakenVeina@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        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.

        • Car@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          11 months ago

          While I agree that the individuals in the administration who touched the issue and failed to act should be at the very least fired for negligence resulting in serious bodily harm, I don’t think they did anything criminal. They made some poor decisions and a woman was hurt under their purview - they did not cause the woman to be shot.

          • Caradoc879@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            They did commit criminal acts. Criminal negligence and child endangerment. Multiple people reported the existence of a gun on the premises and a person stating intent to use it. Doesnt matter if that person was a child. The administrators knew a gun was in the posession of a child and failed to call the police or secure the weapon.

            I’d throw a charge of child endangerment on those administrators for each child in the school.

            if a gun is reported and you fail to act, you deserve prison.

    • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      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.

      They were the school and the school is liable.

      • Caradoc879@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        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.

        • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          Forget the school, the individuals in the administration are the ones that need to be sued.

          No, they need individual punishmemt, too.

          They were not saying as well but instead of.

          Personally, I believe they should be barred from any position in education but that is not what I was replying to.

          • Caradoc879@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Barring them isn’t enough. The only acceptable place is prison. Criminal negligence and child endangerment charges at the minimum.

            • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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              11 months ago

              You have your opinion, I have mine.

              Criminal negligence and child endangerment

              That sounds like something for the person (parent, I assume) that gave the child access to a pistol.

              • Trebach@kbin.social
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                11 months ago

                She’s awaiting trial for felony child neglect and allowing a child access to a firearm.

        • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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          11 months ago

          They were not saying as well but instead of.

          Personally, I believe they should be barred from any position in education but that is not what I was replying to.

  • frunch@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    That 6 yr old is gonna have to work a lot of jobs to pay back that 40 mil, hell of a grind set they worked out

  • TheDarksteel94@sopuli.xyz
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    11 months ago

    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.)

    • pewter@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      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.

  • AnarchoSnowPlow
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    11 months ago

    Imagine if she had been armed, and responded by killing the kid as he pulled a gun on her.

    She got shot, got her class to safety then collapsed. She’s a fucking hero. All without killing the six year old child who shot her.

    The entire situation is completely fucked up, but the worst people out of all of them are the lawyers for the school district. I can see how it would be unimaginable to a school admin that a six year old brought a real gun to school. I can see how a parent could make a terrible mistake unintentionally allowing their child access to a firearm. The chain of events leading up to it could be plausibly unintentional, actual mistakes on the part of people who should have been more responsible.

    But to know the facts, then make any argument other than “we know this was a horrible situation, but if we were to just give her $40 million will destroy public education in our district” is absolutely abhorrent and unethical. To actually make the argument with any sincerity that getting shot by a six year old is a standard hazard when teaching first grade is unconscionable.

    “Robust defense” and all that sure, do your best, but if that’s your best judgement then you need a much less impactful line of work.