School Board Pays $500,000 in Abuse Case

Settlement amount: $500,000
Participating Attorney(s): James Roberts III

Middle School Abuse Case Settles Pre-Suit

A horrible set of facts forced a local school board to pay $500,000 in a pre-suit settlement of a student-on-student sexual assault and abuse incident. The case involved a middle school student who forced a classmate to engage in a sexual act. The school's principal was aware physical and verbal abuse was occurring between the students, but allowed the students to become unsupervised. The assault occurred after a meeting with the students in the principal's office. The students were allowed to return to the classroom when by themselves when the incident occurred. 

Lewis & Roberts was able to work with the family and the school board to resolve the case without the necessity of a lawsuit. Our primary goal in handling this difficult case was to minimize the involvement of our client - who was already traumatized by the event - while ensuring that fair compensation was obtained. The family was willing forgo lengthy litigation for a pre-suit settlement that provided compensation to assist their child with life and educational needs going forward.