May 2, 2008

Girl With Heart Disease Dies in Gym Class

Candi Martinez is filing a wrongful death suit against Las Cruces Public Schools because her daughter Destinie, who had heart disease, died after she was sent to gym class despite a note excusing her for medical reasons and then was kept from the hospital because the school called the wrong parents to obtain consent.

Destinie was kept in class even after she began vomiting.

This case (whatever its merits) reminds us of how the institutional nature of schools can lead to a child's individual medical problems going ignored by teachers and administrators, who may be too busy keeping general order to pay attention to an individual child.