Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Bullied Student Wins $800K Settlement

by Tom Henderson - March 9th

Bullies everywhere are going to find it a lot harder to shove kids into lockers, trip them in hallways, call them degrading names and generally make every day at school a living hell.

That's because one victim didn't get mad. He got a lawyer.

Officials for Hudson Area Schools in Michigan were ordered March 3 by a federal jury to pay former student Dane Patterson $800,000 for failing to protect him from school bullies...

...Patterson tells the newspaper he complained to teachers and administrators, but nothing changed.

"I can't even put into words the pain and suffering that I went through for years," Patterson, now 19, tells the Free Press. "It's something that I would not want anyone else to go through."

The final straw, he says, came when he was a sophomore and a naked student rubbed against him in a locker room. ...

For more about this story go to: http://www.parentdish.com/2010/03/09/anti-bullying-ruling-an-atomic-wedgie-for-bullies-everywhere/

3 comments:

Are you being bullied? said...

We need information/directory for lawyers like this one.

Despite this outcome, school continue to be oblivious to the depth and pervasiveness of this problem. AND, they have no idea what to do about it.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Natalie said...

Yes, a directory of lawyers and pro-bono lawyers willing to help families in matters such as these would be wonderful.

My son has had a similar incident with a boy constantly exposing himself and then one day rubbed his hand all over his privates and then rubbed his hand on my sons face and in his mouth. It's be perceived by his father and other boys as "normal guy behavior". My son was so enraged by the incident. And now, my son is the one being isolated by his friends not the other way around! I don't get it!!!!!

Unknown said...

I thought you might be interested in checking out my trailer for Hot Issues, Cool Choices, my book on bullying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI4uiMqa7Go
Thanks,
Sandy Humphrey