INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has given the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. more time to respond to a civil lawsuit alleging that staff failed to timely recognize that an intellectually disabled student was experiencing seizures on a school bus, resulting in delayed medical attention and ultimately her death a few days later.
U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Kendra Klump recently granted a request from BCSC seeking more time to respond to the allegations in the lawsuit, setting a Sept. 20 deadline for the response, according to filings in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
The lawsuit, filed in late May by the representatives of the student’s estate, alleges that the student was participating in an individualized educational program at Columbus North High School when she started experiencing seizures while on a school bus in April 2023.
The plaintiffs allege that staff on board the bus “failed to timely recognize and respond to (the student’s) seizures,” according to a copy of the complaint. The student was later admitted to Columbus Regional Hospital and transferred to Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where she died.
The plaintiffs further allege that the student’s individualized educational program stipulated that she should have a private one-on-one school nurse with her while at school to “help her participate in more activities with the class and to give her breathing treatments, feedings and changes.” However, the nurse or bus assistant allegedly was not seated next to her on the bus when the seizures started, according to the complaint.
The student, who is described in court records as having “a severe intellectual disability while also being diagnosed with asthma, seizure disorder and cerebral palsy, among other issues,” was “mostly non-verbal and communicated mainly by using her eyes and thus … had difficulty communicating her needs in the event of an emergency,” according to the complaint.
The representatives of the students’ estate — her biological grandmother and her maternal uncle — allege that the delayed medical attention caused them to incur medical costs, as well as funeral and burial expenses. They are being represented by Valparaiso attorney Steven L. Langer.
The complaint includes claims of negligence, wrongful child death, violations of the U.S. Constitution, among other claims. BCSC, the BCSC School Board, Columbus North High School, the Indiana State Board of Education and unidentified individuals who operated school buses and provided transportation services to students are listed as defendants.
On July 26, BCSC asked for more time to respond, arguing, among other things, that the “complaint makes joint allegations against all school defendants that the school defendants collectively need additional time to investigate.”
“As the incident at issue occurred on a bus, (the plaintiffs) generally allege that defendants were responsible for the employment and training of bus operators and monitors and the operation of buses,” BCSC states in its request. “They also generally allege that defendants were responsible for training related to transporting and monitoring disabled children. The school defendants need additional time to collectively investigate these allegations and in particular to determine which entity was responsible for the issues discussed in the allegations.”
While BCSC, the BCSC School Board and Columbus North High School are listed as separate defendants, they “intend to file a single answer in response to the complaint,” according to court filings.
The judge granted BCSC’s request earlier this month, setting a Sept. 20 deadline for the response. The case is currently pending in federal court.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in later court action.
