EVERETT — A mother filed a lawsuit against the Edmonds School District after alleging the tip of her son’s finger was severed in a metal door in 2023 at Cedar Way Elementary School in Mountlake Terrace.
The complaint alleges the school and the child’s special education teacher’s negligence led to the injury. Court documents allege Cedar Way failed to follow the Individualized Education Plan and Behavioral Intervention Plan set up for the child, who was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, sensory processing disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
Around noon April 12, 2023, the then 10-year-old child was the only student in the classroom, court documents said. His special education teacher was supervising him alongside a general classroom paraeducator.
The complaint alleges the child became overwhelmed and sought attention from his teacher, who was dismissive and left the room through a metal door that led to the parking lot. He attempted to leave the room as well, but was allegedly grabbed by the general classroom paraeducator. When he attempted to open the door, his teacher allegedly pulled the door shut, which severed the tip of his right middle finger, court documents said.
According to the child’s statement in the complaint, he screamed and banged on the door as the teacher walked away. He eventually freed himself and sought help from another staff member, who took him to the nurse’s office. The general classroom paraeducator later reported that she did not see the defendant leave the room, but she “heard the door shut hard,” court documents said.
Staff contacted his mother and told her that her son’s fingernail had been damaged after being caught in a door, and he needed to go to the hospital. When she arrived, she saw her son’s shirt was “covered in blood” and was given a paper cup with the finger tip wrapped in a wet paper towel inside, court documents said.
The complaint alleges that the mother was never given an explanation of what happened from school staff or the district.
Edmonds School District declined to comment on Thursday due to pending litigation.
On April 17 of 2023, the child returned to school and informed staff that he did not want to be near his teacher or “the big metal door,” court documents said.
On April 28, he was called out of the classroom by the principal, where the teacher was waiting. She allegedly told the child that she was sorry, but he shouldn’t have kept asking when she wasn’t answering, “so it was kind of your fault,” court documents said.
“The way that the school handled it has been letting the child know it was his fault for acting the way he did,” said Chris Davis, principal attorney and founder of Davis Law Group.
The defendant remained the child’s teacher until he transferred schools on May 5, 2023, court documents said.
The family is seeking damages in the seven-figure range and hopes that this lawsuit “does more to see that each child’s IEP plan is being followed at all times,” Davis said.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan
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