8th Grader Blinded, Plans $16M Bullying Suit
The parents of a Brooklyn eighth grader left blind in one eye after a beating by bullies are pursuing a $16 million school bullying lawsuit, the New York Daily News reports.
A lawyer for Kardin Ulysse's parents planned to file a notice about the threatened lawsuit Tuesday, the first step in suing New York City and its Department of Education for allegedly failing to supervise the students who beat up their son.
Ulysse, 14, has undergone two surgeries on his eye and may require a transplant after a June 5 attack at his junior high school.
The beating at issue in Kardin Ulysse's bullying lawsuit took place on school grounds. Two seventh graders ganged up on Ulysse and berated him with harsh verbal insults including anti-gay slurs, according to a school incident report. "I think he said that to hurt me," Ulysse told the Daily News.
One bully then pinned Ulysse's arms while the other continuously punched Ulysse's face, head, and neck. Either the bully's punches, or shards from Ulysse's broken eyeglasses, damaged his cornea and left him blind in his right eye.
Ulysse broke away from the bullies, who chased him into the cafeteria. That's where school safety officers put a stop to the fight.
The two bullies were arrested and charged with misdemeanors because they are minors. The Ulysse family's lawyer wants the charges upgraded to felonies.
Suing a school for bullying injuries is an increasingly common tactic. While the Ulysses' pending suit alleges a failure to supervise students, other suits have accused schools of failing to follow their own anti-bullying policies and failing to follow-up on bullying complaints. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help determine the best legal course of action.
In addition to Karin Ulysse's threatened $16 million bullying lawsuit, his junior high school is also facing another bullying lawsuit. In that case, a 13-year-old student's family is suing the school over an alleged pattern of bullying, the Daily News reports.
Related Resources:
- Brooklyn Boy Blinded in One Eye After School Attack: Report (New York's WNBC-TV)
- Browse Personal Injury Lawyers by Location (FindLaw)
- Specific State Laws Against Bullying (FindLaw)
- Teen Sues School, Ex-Classmate for Bullying (FindLaw's Injured)