LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The family of a 12-year-old student who died after being struck in the head by a metal water bottle during a bullying incident at Reseda Charter High School Wednesday filed legal claims against the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Claimants Elma Chuquipa Sanchez and Jesus Alfredo Zavaleta Tafur, Khimberly's mother and father, as well as her sister, Sharon Zavaleta Chuquipa, filed the legal actions alleging the school district failed to protect Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa despite prior knowledge she was being bullied. The filings were announced during a news conference at the office of the family's attorneys.
"This tragedy should never have happened," the plaintiffs' lawyer Robert Glassman said. "No family should lose a child because a school failed to protect them."
A claim is a possible forerunner of a lawsuit. An LAUSD representative said the district does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The claim states that Khimberly was in a hallway at Reseda Charter High School on Feb. 17 when she was struck in the head with a metal water bottle while attempting to defend her sister, Sharon, who was being bullied by other students. Khimberly was later transported to UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, where she underwent emergency brain surgery and was placed in an induced coma. She later died.
The on-campus attack followed months of bullying, harassment and physical aggression directed at both Khimberly and Sharon. And although their mother had repeatedly informed school administrators, nothing meaningful was done, the suit states.
"Schools have a legal responsibility to protect the children in their care," Glassman said. "When administrators are repeatedly warned that a child is being bullied and physically assaulted, they must take action. Tragically, in this case, that did not happen."
The claim alleges LAUSD failed to investigate reported bullying, adequately supervise student interactions, discipline the alleged harassers or implement effective safety measures. The legal action further contends that unsafe conditions on campus, including obstructed visibility and inadequate monitoring, contributed to the circumstances.
The alleged failures constitute negligence resulting in wrongful death, negligent supervision, maintaining a dangerous condition of public property and violations of California's Safe Place to Learn Act and Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, the claim states.
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