BALDWIN PARK -- A 4-year-old plaintiff.
An alleged bully, named Angel.
A lawsuit over an alleged scrap in a preschool classroom.
"I've never heard anything like that, it's a new one on me," said school board member Jack White, who has seen many lawsuits come down the pike in his years as a school official and previously as Baldwin Park's mayor.
Nolan King, an Upland civil-law attorney who practices frequently in Pomona Superior Court, said it is unusual that two boys so young are at different ends of a lawsuit.
Most lawsuits involve plaintiffs and defendants no younger than 10, King said.
But Angelic Hoyos said little Justin was traumatized by an attack in 2003 that left him with cuts, bruises and scarring on his head. He was treated by doctors, who stitched up his head and performed a CT scan, which showed no damage, Hoyos said.
But doctors could not guarantee Justin wouldn't suffer problems later as a result of the head injury, Hoyos said.
"Now, whenever my son hears anything about an angel, even a guardian angel, it scares him," Hoyos said.
Justin's learning ability was also affected, Hoyos said, though he finished kindergarten at Central Elementary School in the spring.
The negligence lawsuit was filed on Justin's behalf June 18 in Pomona Superior Court by Hoyos, 32, of Baldwin Park. She and her son are asking for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit centers on an alleged May 12, 2003, incident in a classroom of the district's Vineland School Head Start program for preschoolers.
Angel allegedly pushed Justin into a filing cabinet after a teacher's aide left the classroom to go to the cafeteria. Hoyos said she is uncertain whether the teacher, a substitute that day, was there when Justin was hurt.
However, when Hoyos arrived, the teacher seemed unconcerned about Justin, who was holding a napkin to one ear, she said.
"He didn't take charge," Hoyos said. "He just kept reading to the other students."
Carolyn Wertz, an associate superintendent for the district, said she does not remember any such incident.
She did say that state law requires that a certificated person, such as a teacher or principal, be with students at all times in all grades. "You don't leave the kids alone," Wertz said. "If an earthquake or something happens, we're liable if someone gets hurt."
http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2312670,00.html
An alleged bully, named Angel.
A lawsuit over an alleged scrap in a preschool classroom.
"I've never heard anything like that, it's a new one on me," said school board member Jack White, who has seen many lawsuits come down the pike in his years as a school official and previously as Baldwin Park's mayor.
Nolan King, an Upland civil-law attorney who practices frequently in Pomona Superior Court, said it is unusual that two boys so young are at different ends of a lawsuit.
Most lawsuits involve plaintiffs and defendants no younger than 10, King said.
But Angelic Hoyos said little Justin was traumatized by an attack in 2003 that left him with cuts, bruises and scarring on his head. He was treated by doctors, who stitched up his head and performed a CT scan, which showed no damage, Hoyos said.
But doctors could not guarantee Justin wouldn't suffer problems later as a result of the head injury, Hoyos said.
"Now, whenever my son hears anything about an angel, even a guardian angel, it scares him," Hoyos said.
Justin's learning ability was also affected, Hoyos said, though he finished kindergarten at Central Elementary School in the spring.
The negligence lawsuit was filed on Justin's behalf June 18 in Pomona Superior Court by Hoyos, 32, of Baldwin Park. She and her son are asking for unspecified damages.
The lawsuit centers on an alleged May 12, 2003, incident in a classroom of the district's Vineland School Head Start program for preschoolers.
Angel allegedly pushed Justin into a filing cabinet after a teacher's aide left the classroom to go to the cafeteria. Hoyos said she is uncertain whether the teacher, a substitute that day, was there when Justin was hurt.
However, when Hoyos arrived, the teacher seemed unconcerned about Justin, who was holding a napkin to one ear, she said.
"He didn't take charge," Hoyos said. "He just kept reading to the other students."
Carolyn Wertz, an associate superintendent for the district, said she does not remember any such incident.
She did say that state law requires that a certificated person, such as a teacher or principal, be with students at all times in all grades. "You don't leave the kids alone," Wertz said. "If an earthquake or something happens, we're liable if someone gets hurt."
http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~2312670,00.html