Student sues school after being shoved into a clothes dryer
A suit filed against the Walthall County School district March 25 in circuit court on behalf of a minor student seeks compensation for “damages for personal injuries and personal disability…for an amount that will compensate…for all medical expenses he incurred and will incur in the future.”
In addition it seeks compensation for the plaintiff’s “past, present and future pain and suffering…and for interests, costs and other expenses incurred by the Plaintiff…”
The suit is filed on behalf of a minor student by his mother, Frankie Downs Mallard.
Mrs. Mallard and her son are represented by Williams, Williams & Montgomery, Hattiesburg, attorneys for the plaintiff, and signed by L. O’Neal Williams Jr., counsel for the plaintiff.
The suit against the school board and district represents one side of a legal argument, Plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial.
Attorneys say the minor student was a 9th grader at the time of the incident on Sept. 27, 2018. The minor had been scheduled to work out in the school’s weight room. When he arrived, the suit claims three THS football team members lifted the subject and placed him in a recently used clothes dryer, causing him to sustain significant burns to his right arm and a cut to his left knee
The suit claims there was no faculty and staff present to monitor the students
In a letter hand delivered to Wade Carney, district superintendent on Sept. 23, 2019, just shy of a year after the incident, Williams, Williams & Montgomery served notice of a “potential claim for personal injuries” and demanding compensation in an amount not less than $500,000 in actual damages.
The Sept. 23 letter informed the district of the claimant’s intention to institute legal proceedings unless a settlement could be arranged prior to that time. That was six months ago, then on March 25 attorneys filed the lawsuit in circuit court.
A similar incident to the one described above occurred in the district but never went to court because the student victim refused to identify those responsible. Since he would never confirm the incident as actually happening and would talk to no one about what happened, the matter was dropped and no record is available.
