Our Manteca School Negligence Case in the News

Read the blog from Frank Penney Injury Lawyers in Roseville, CA below. 

From the press release issued August 22, 2019:

Disabled student neglected by teacher’s aide suffers injuries, files claims against San Joaquin Board of Education and Manteca Unified School District

MANTECA – Veronica Villalobos, the mother of 12-year-old Priscilla Villalobos, has filed claims against the San Joaquin Board of Education and Manteca Unified School District in connection with serious injuries sustained by her daughter as a result of neglect on the part of district employees.

On May 28, 2019, a teacher’s aide was transporting Priscilla to the motor room for Physical Education at Stella Brockman Elementary School. Since the motor room was locked, the aide went to a different room to obtain the key for the motor room. In the process, the aide left Priscilla unattended, despite knowing that Priscilla needed to be supervised at all times. Priscilla was confined to a wheelchair due to being blind and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, and epilepsy.

While Priscilla was left unattended, Priscilla’s wheelchair rolled down a ramp, tipped over, and caused Priscilla to violently strike the ground. The whole incident was captured on surveillance video from the school. As a result of the fall, Priscilla sustained serious injuries and permanent scarring (requiring stitches) to her head. Since then, she has been under the care of her doctors, who have indicated that she is now more susceptible to experiencing frequent seizures as a result of the fall.

To make matters worse, according to Veronica (Priscilla’s mother), the school initially lied to the parents and told them that Priscilla slipped and fell down. They have refused to take responsibility for what happened, and even told the family to “call an Uber” for Priscilla after this incident occurred. Only after Priscilla’s parents insisted on the school calling paramedics did they call 911.

Paul Hoybjerg, Paul Hoybjerg, one of the attorneys for the Villalobos family, stated: “The Villalobos family is extremely disappointed in the school for what happened to their daughter. Her parents entrusted the school with Priscilla’s safety and the school simply dropped the ball. Despite knowing that Priscilla needed to be watched at all times – due to her precarious medical condition – school employees allowed her to remain unattended,which resulted in these injuries. We hope to obtain justice on their behalf and make sure no other family has to go through the same heartache.”

Sacramento news station KCRA 3 covered the story, as did Fox 40 news.

Standing Up to School Negligence

Accidents do happen at schools, and not all of them warrant a personal injury case. However, if your child is injured because a school employee breached their duty of care, and if that injury could have been prevented by taking reasonable measures, you should discuss the situation with an experienced school negligence lawyer.