Maryland Accident Law Blog
In Baltimore, the family of Isaiah Simmons III, 17, has filed a $207 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, the Bowling Brook Preparatory School, and seven counselors at the now-closed private reform school.
Simmons died in January 2007 following a confrontation with counselors at the juvenile offenders’ school located in Carroll County, Maryland. Simmons’s family is accusing all the defendants of negligence leading to the 17-year-old’s “slow, agonizing, and excruciating death.” The East Baltimore teen had been sent to the reform school after he was found guilty in juvenile court for armed robbery.
The lawsuit alleges that on January 23, 2007, seven counselors threw Simmons to the floor and sat on him for “multiple” hours despite hearing him complain that he could not breathe and that he was in pain. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said that the counselors reportedly restrained him after he threatened to hurt staff personnel and other students at the school.
The lawsuit says that the school did not follow the accepted protocols and practices to restrain their son and that he suffocated to death. When the paramedics arrived, the boy was in cardiac arrest.
His family is asking for $207 million for every minute that Simmons was restrained. They are calling the method used to restrain him cruel and unusual.
Five counselors have been charged with reckless endangerment for waiting 41 minutes after the teenager became unresponsive to call a 911 operator for help. The FBI is still probing into whether more criminal charges and civil rights violations must be filed.
In Maryland and Washington D.C., our wrongful death lawyers can explore your legal options with you during a free consultation.
Family sues over teen’s death at reform school, Examiner.com, May 15, 2008
Related Web Resource:
Sun coverage: Teen dies at Bowling Brook, Baltimore Sun.com
Contact the Maryland personal injury law firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen today.