The family of Kaleiah Jones, a 16-year-old student who collapsed and died at Menchville High School, is suing Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) in Virginia, several school staff members, and the City of Newport News. The City of Newport News is included in the lawsuit because the Student Resource Officer (SRO) at the school is affiliated with the city.
The family claims no aid was rendered to Kaleiah for nine minutes after her collapse, despite staff being aware of the medical incident immediately. It is alleged that a staff member started CPR after nine minutes but stopped after 17 seconds. Medics arrived 16 minutes after the collapse.
According to the source:
Kaleiah, 16, collapsed in the hallway at Menchville High School on February 20. According to her family, no school staff rendered aid for nine minutes, despite knowing about the medical incident immediately. The family's legal team claimed Thursday, a school staffer did start CPR after those nine minutes but stopped after 17 seconds. The attorneys cite school video for a timeline, saying medics arrived 16 minutes after the teen collapsed.
The family is seeking $85 million in compensatory damages for gross negligence. https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/newport-news/menchville-high-school-student-family-sues-nnps-city-after-collapse-death/291-b291d7ed-02ba-4e37-b288-f2b4d4032aab (Oct. 17, 2024).
Commentary
A person should perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) immediately when someone is unresponsive, not breathing, and/or has no pulse.
CPR is necessary to circulate blood to vital organs when the heart has stopped beating or is not beating effectively. Without blood to vital organs, the organs can deteriorate quickly and lead to death. Performing CPR immediately can double or even triple the chances of survival.
In the above matter, the case will center on whether the school and/or the city provided adequate CPR training; whether the person that performed the training on behalf of the school was effective and/or trained properly; and whether the school had policies and procedure in place to provide CPR to students in a timely and safe manner, specifically someone close enough to provide CPR before organ damage ensued.
Although speculative, the defense will likely claim that while the school had personnel trained for CPR; that CPR was administered; and that CPR would not have prevented the student's death.
For online resources, including training on CPR, schools should visit the American Red Cross at https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr/cpr-training/cpr-online.
