Closed Mount Bachelor Academy Focus of Suit
PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- Nine former students of Mount Bachelor Academy, a now-closed program for troubled teens east of Prineville have filed a $14 million lawsuit against the school and its parent companies, alleging serious abuse -- something its operators and supporters are strongly denying. Their attorney, Kelly Clark of the Portland law firm O'Donnell Clark & Crew LLP, said Thursday this is only the first step toward closure and justice for what they claim happened. "My folks have two reasons for doing this," said Clark. "No.One is to get this behind them, to have closure and healing and justice for themselves. But secondly, and equally important for them is that they want to spread the word that some of these schools "love without compromise" are not good places - and there are hundreds of them throughout the country ". People living near the school closed about 35 miles east of Prineville, had a different impression of the private school. "I thought it was a great school," said Jarrod Warren of Prineville. "Every time when I was in college, I would drive there with my parents and I saw a lot of children there.And now I drive by and there is nothing now. " "Not exactly what happened at school, but what happened in their past and how the school has changed, but it is certainly different," said Tasha Asbow, also of Prineville . The school was closed by the state in 2009 after finding evidence to support allegations of neglect and abuse repeatedly. The 52-page lawsuit filed by nine former students who have chosen not to be named claims physical and psychological abuse. They say the parents were instructed not to believe everything they say, and they were denied basic medical care. The claim also states they were sexually abused. The attorney for Mount Bachelor Academy, Greg Chaimov Davis Wright Tremaine LLP said in a written statement Thursday afternoon, that these alleged incidents took place before the school was purchased by a "nationally recognized network of therapeutic schools and programs that espouse comprehensive best practices and safety protocols." Chaimov closed his statement by saying, "Following review of this complaint, we firmly stand by our original statement and vigorously deny any and all charges of mistreatment." The case now goes into civil litigation, where it could be thrown out, settled or eventuallyr heard by a jury.Portland Medical Malpractice Attorney - News
Staff had reportedly ignored repeated signs of a serious medical problem, and the boy died at the scene. The lead sherif's investigator on the Sagewalk case recommended that the Lake County district attorney file homicide charges.
in The Best Lawyers in America 2011 and has been selected for inclusion in the 2011 Pennsylvania super Lawyers in Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the top lawyers in the areas of Plaintiff's Personal Injury Litigation and medical Malpractice.
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This time Becker responded, admitting that there was no signed smoke detector notice, but again denied any negligence for the injury. Moratti's counsel called Becker to ask if he should send the settlement package in hopes that it would "change [her]
The boy was treated at the scene then transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland for further treatment. Neither the severity of the injury nor his condition is known at this time. Officials said the Garcias bought the fireworks in New Hampshire
Portland Public School Negligence Costs $147000 « Portland Injury ...
Back in 2007, Shakiya Sargent was running late for class and, with her arms full, tried to kick the metal crash bar on a door. This door was kicked by students on a regular basis, but Shakiya’s foot slipped this time and her leg went through the wire glass. The broken glass and wire went into her leg, severing two major nerves and 70% of her Achilles tendon. Her medical bills reached $41,000.
In June, minor Shakiya Sargent was awarded $147,000 in damages for her injury at her Portland Public School.
A Multnomah County jury found Portland Public Schools negligent in this case, and awarded Shakiya (now 17 years old, 13 at the time of the accident) $222,000. But because of tort limits, the reward amount was reduced to $147,000.
The Portland Public Schools had lobbied against 2003 Oregon Legislature that would have required all schools to replace the wire glass in their buildings. Although the state schools chief, Susan Castillo, had sent out a memo in Dec. 2003 with a warning about collisions with wire glass, when Shakiya’s attorney deposed her teachers and administrators, none of them remembered being warned at all.
This lack of warning, and indeed determined intention NOT to replace the dangerous glass, showed Portland Public School’s negligence of students’ safety. It was argued that a 13-year-old should know better than to kick a door, but the jury found Shakiya 25% negligent, and the school 75% negligent.
In many premises liability cases like this, liability is difficult to prove. In this case, however, the responsible party (Portland Public Schools) knew about the danger and did nothing to prevent this accident – in fact, they made sure the wire glass staying in schools by lobbying against the 2003 bill.
We hope Shakiya’s injury will prevent further school incidents and opens the Portland Public School’s administrations’s eyes to the dangers of keeping old building materials around longer than necessary for the safety of our children.