Arias Sanguinetti Obtains Largest Settlement Against A School District in Clark County History
Clark County, NV – Attorneys from Arias Sanguinetti announced that they’ve obtained the largest settlement against a school district in the history of Clark County on behalf of a single individual, after the county agreed to settle a case involving the severe physical and emotional abuse of a student living with autism.
Originally filed in 2019, the parents of J.W. (who remains anonymous due to the nature of the abuse and his status as a minor) filed a lawsuit which included claims of alleged:
- Assault
- Battery
- Negligence
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- ADA violations
“After years of litigation, the family is grateful that the legal aspect of this matter is now at an end,” said Gregg Hubley of Arias Sanguinetti. “The trauma and pain that J.W. and his parents had to endure, not just from the abuse but from the aggressive litigation and delay tactics used by the school district will last for years to come. However, we hope the district will put a plan in place so that this harm never comes to another autistic child and family ever again.”
J.W. is a non-verbal, autistic child who received special education at Harley Harmon Elementary School between 2016 and 2018. In 2017, J.W.’s parents notified the school principal that their son was not getting the food and water they were sending to school for him, and expressed concerns that school employees were not changing his diaper, as he was being sent home with his pants soaked in waste. They removed him from school for the duration of the 2016/17 school year because of these concerns and then re-enrolled him for the 2017/18 year.
However, during the 2017/18 school year, J.W.’s parents noticed bruising on his body, and J.W. was acting differently and did not want to go to the school. When they addressed the bruising with the teacher and classroom aides, they were told he’d fallen on the playground. In May of 2018, a substitute aide was assigned to the class. This substitute prepared a written report advising the principal that the regular teacher and the aides physically and verbally abused J.W. The report said that his regular teacher hit J.W. on the feet with a pointer stick so hard that the stick broke, forced him to sit and stay in a tightly confined area, forced him to sleep under the teacher’s desk by her feet, and even caused him to fall to the ground on one occasion.
This report was handed to the school’s principal who informed her supervisor in the Employee Relations Management (“ERM”) Department and called Clark County School District (CCSD) Police as well as Child Protective Services (CPS). CCSD Police and CPS investigated the events and found that the teacher physically abused J.W. The school nurse also examined J.W. and found bruises on his ankles. Police concluded there was evidence for one count of child abuse against the teacher. CCSD stipulated that J.W. had been repeatedly abused by this teacher and that he had been deprived of food and water; however, CCSD concealed the substitute aide’s statement until the Federal District Court Ordered CCSD to produce it in 2020. CCSD also concealed interviews that had been conducted with ‘typical peer’ children in J.W.’s class who informed law enforcement that the teacher regularly struck J.W. with the pointer stick on his legs and abdomen.
“I’m proud our firm once again stood for justice on behalf of a family that had no place else to turn,” said managing partner Mike Arias. “This child never should have been subjected to any form of abuse, and this family should not have had to jump through so many hoops to get the answers they deserved.”
The case is J.W. v. Clark County School District, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, Case No. 2:19-cv-00965.
About Arias Sanguinetti
With offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, Arias Sanguinetti is the premier trial firm representing individuals who have been injured through no fault of their own. The firm’s trial lawyer team regularly represents people injured in Clark County and throughout Nevada and the Country in school abuse, civil rights, personal injury, sexual assault, medical malpractice and elder abuse cases.
