Severe School Bullying results in a Child and his Family having to leave their Home and the Polk County School District
Parents of a bullied child are suing the Polk County School District as a result of their son suffering relentless physical and verbal abuse at the hands of his classmates at Palmetto Elementary School.
- Orlando, FL (1888PressRelease) June 25, 2011 - Christine never expected her family's life to be turned upside down and her home of eight years to be foreclosed on, as a result of her son being bullied at school. However, that is exactly what happened after numerous attempts went unheard to Palmetto Elementary School, the Polk County school district, and the state exposing the verbal and physical abuse her son was facing on a daily basis at school.
"As a parent, your first instinct is to protect your children. When I drop my children off at school, I expect them to be in a safe, non-threatening environment," said Christine.
Instead, Christine's son was subject to frequent physical and verbal bullying on the playground and in gym class by three of his male classmates and one of their older brothers, during his 3rd and 4th grade years at Palmetto Elementary School in Polk County. As a result of the bullying, her son became severely withdrawn, suffered daily panic attacks and his grades dropped from A's and B's to C's and D's, in a relatively short amount of time.
Christine's son would come home with physical injuries ranging from scraped knees and elbows to numerous bruises as a result of the persistent bullying. Christine initially went to her son's teacher to have her address the bullying. After she saw no improvement, she went to the school's assistant principal, and next to the school principal to request that the bullies be transferred to another class, away from her son. This request was not granted, nor was any remedy seen. In fact, Christine was told that her son was the problem and he should learn how to play and socially interact better with his classmates.
"The most severe incident occurred on May 5, 2010, where my son's head was slammed into the concrete so hard that he suffered a concussion," Christine said. "At this point, I knew that it was no longer safe to keep my child at this school."
Christine tirelessly researched alternatives for her son, including virtual and charter schools, even looking to take out a school loan for her son to attend a private school in the area. All of her attempts proved unsuccessful. Her last resort was to pull her son and his younger sister from the school and move out of district. This required the family to move out of their home of 8 years, which eventually went into foreclosure, and into a new residence in another school district.
It was at this time that Christine reached out to attorney Justin Clark of Gregory & Clark, PLLC, (www.gregory-clark.com) in Longwood, FL who concentrates a portion of his practice in representing children and their families who have been subjected to harmful bullying that has resulted in school injury, wrongful death or suicide.
"By law, schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy written and enforced to ensure the safety of children while they are at school," says firm partner, Justin R. Clark. "The school, the district and the state had a duty to protect my client. They failed to do this and the consequences have been devastating not only for the child, but for his entire family."
Christine hopes that her son's story and their family's ordeal will help bring attention to the harmful effects of bullying and the responsibility teachers, principals, administrators and school districts have to protect children from being physically and verbally abused at school.
The attorneys at Gregory & Clark, PLLC, practice real estate, foreclosure defense, bankruptcy and education law. In addition, the firm handles contract disputes, mortgage & loan modifications and personal injury cases. The firm's attorneys have a special interest in representing children and their families who have been subjected to severe, harmful bullying, that has resulted in school injury, wrongful death, suicide or other related damages. They are strong advocates for children's right to safety and freedom from harassment as they pursue their education. The firm represents clients in cities such as Longwood, Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Lake Mary, College Park, Winter Park, Apopka, Deland, Debary, Deltona and Daytona Beach, in Seminole County, Orange, Volusia, Lake, Brevard and Osceola counties. The office environment is centered on a culture of superior client care. The firm is committed to providing personalized service to each and every client, clearly explaining the legal recourse according to the unique circumstances of his or her case.
Contact: Kristine Bruner of Pristine Public Relations, Inc. at (954) 376-3683, or via e-mail at kristine ( @ ) pristinepr dot com for Gregory & Clark, PLLC.
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