A teacher who was shot by her six-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her US$40 million lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled on Friday.
The surprise decision by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers’ compensation for the serious injuries caused by January’s classroom shooting.
Lawyers for Newport News Public Schools had tried to block the lawsuit, saying that Zwerner was eligible only for workers’ compensation. It provides up to nearly 10 years pay and lifetime medical care for injuries.
Photo: AP
Zwerner’s attorneys countered that workers’ compensation does not apply because a first-grade teacher would never anticipate getting shot, as “it was not an actual risk of her job.”
Hoffman sided with Zwerner, writing that her injuries “did not arise out of her employment” and therefore did not “fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.”
“The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher,” he wrote.
In early January, the six-year-old pulled out his mother’s handgun and shot Zwerner as she sat at a reading table in front of her first-grade class. She rushed the rest her students into the hallway before collapsing in the school’s office.
Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and endured multiple surgeries after a bullet struck her hand and chest.
She sued in April, alleging that school officials ignored multiple warnings that the boy had a gun and had routinely dismissed ongoing concerns about his troubling behavior.
Police have said the shooting was intentional, while Zwerner says that school officials knew the boy “had a history of random violence” at school and home, including when he “choked” his kindergarten teacher.
“This victory is an important stepping stone on our path towards justice for Abby,” Zwerner’s attorneys, Diane Toscano, Jeffrey Breit and Kevin Biniazan, said in a statement.
“We are eager to continue our pursuit of accountability and a just, fair recovery,” they said. “No teacher expects to stare down the barrel of a gun held by a six-year-old student.”
Zwerner no longer works for the school system. A tentative trial date for her lawsuit is scheduled for January 2025.
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