Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The horseplay related death of a junior high school student on May 18, 2010 has prompted a wrongful death lawsuit against the Normal (IL) Fire Department and the local school department.
The youngster, Donnie Hampton, 13, collapsed after engaging in a punching game called “body shots” in a school bathroom. The Normal Fire Department responded, treated and transported the youth, who died at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital. An autopsy concluded that he had a heart condition that contributed to his death.
Hampton’s mother, Jasmine Brooks, filed the suit on the one year anniversary of Donnie’s death alleging that school personnel failed to warn the students about the dangers of the game, and failed to properly monitor the bathrooms. She also alleges that Normal FD paramedics failed to properly assess and treat Donnie in a timely manner.
For more on the story. Here is a news video about the original incident back in May, 2010.
