Woman sues KIPP DC schools for $50m as son, 9, is hit and killed by car after being let out unattended
WASHINGTON, DC: A mother of a nine-year-old boy is filing a $50M lawsuit against a Washington, DC, charter school after her son was struck by a car as he left the school, was paralyzed and died from his injuries six months later. In December 2021, Kaidyn Green was left paralyzed from the neck down after being hit by a vehicle.
The accident damaged Green's lungs, following which he had to be kept on life support for months. He died in June. His mother, Tiffani, claimed that if the staff had followed their usual protocols, the tragedy could have been prevented. That day, Green was allowed to leave the school alone and was hit as he walked out unaccompanied. According to Tiffani, he was released from his classroom early.
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"Essentially we have a situation where a child died twice and he was brought back once," said Green family attorney Keith Watters at a press conference, according to the Daily Mail. Describing the situation as "gross negligence", Watters added, "For whatever reason, the security and or the school did not follow the normal protocol to get the child to the front desk."
The car that hit Green, then a fourth-grader, on December 10, was being driven by William Ward. He has also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Tiffani said that her son looked both ways before crossing and recalled how she heard the sound of him being hit. However, it is unclear if Ward is facing any criminal charges.
Surveillance footage showed Green walking through the corridors of his school alone and walking out on his own when the tragedy took place. The footage has been included as part of the lawsuit. "This has been a life-changing experience for our entire family, and we don't want anyone to go through this again," said Charisma, the boy's aunt, to WUSA. She described Green as "an energetic and fun-loving boy that loved school." The Green family believes safety changes should be made within schools to avoid such tragedy.
Green died after a tracheostomy tube fell out and he was asphyxiated, a day after his family brought him home. He required medical attention for up to 20 hours a day, but it has been alleged that a supervising nurse who was supposed to be on-call left early that day, leaving him unattended.
"Our community continues to mourn Kaidyn's passing and our thoughts are with his family and the classmates that knew him so well," KIPP DC school said in a statement. "Given the pending legal matter, we're unable to say more at this time."