Billings, Montana – School District 2 trustees approved a settlement agreement Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by the family of a Broadwater second-grader who suffered a head injury when she fell into a window well during recess in 2007. The suit was filed in 2010 by Amanda Wilson on behalf of her daughter after the girl sustained the head injury on Dec. 19, 2007.
The injury left Wilson’s daughter with a skull fracture that “adversely affected her mental, cognitive, emotional and other physical development and ability,” according to the lawsuit.
The 7-year-old had been playing outside at recess when she fell either over or through a railing and dropped several feet into a window well, the complaint stated. The window well had solid concrete at the bottom.
Wilson also alleged she was not notified soon enough by Broadwater school regarding the extent of her daughter’s injuries. According to court documents, the girl was found unconscious at the bottom of the window well and school employees did not call for an ambulance.
Wilson said she had arranged for a friend to pick her daughter up from school that day and that the friend said Wilson’s daughter began vomiting blood on the way to her car. Wilson took her daughter to Billings Clinic where a CT scan showed the 7-year-old had a skull fracture.
The school district denies it failed to promptly notify Wilson, according to court documents.
School District 2’s insurance company has negotiated an undisclosed settlement with Wilson. The settlement will be paid entirely by the district’s insurance company, Pacific Life insurance.
The Billings Public Schools Board of Trustees unanimously approved the settlement during a public meeting Tuesday. The settlement must be approved by Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses. That hearing is scheduled for July 19.
For more information, visit this link: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/sd-approves-lawsuit-settlement-after-nd-grader-sustained-head-injury/article_5abf7e7e-8b01-5ca3-9acf-514a1943e9f6.html