While at lunch, my son drank another kids tea that was laced with cough meds. He was unaware of this. The school knew this other kid had just been arrested for stealing these products the other week. I had already advised the school to keep my son separated from him. My son was so overdosed he spent the night in the hospital thinking he would die. While there, the kid who had the drugs spoke to my son on the phone in front of the Dr. to admit what had been taken. My son is home now but is faced with 5 days of out of school suspension. The school has launched an investigation but I feel there is some criminal negligence & intent on both their part and the 17 yr. old who brought this to school. I am still waiting for the police department to contact me. I can't afford a lawyer and am asking for some serious feed back from you as well as wondering if anyone else has experienced this themselves.
2007-10-11 03:30:11 · 9 answers · asked by Horseplay#9 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
This could be a complicated case. Much depends on whether or not your son knowingly consumed the spiked tea. While drink sharing is not at all uncommon on schools, it is a bit odd that one child would simply drink another's drink without some motivation. The other child is certainly responsible for bringing drugs to school. The school's responsibility depends on how suspicious they should have been. It is not easy to detect something mixed into an innocent looking drink and school officials need some reasonable suspicion to test a student's drink. It is not always possible to isolate students from one another at a parent's request.
2007-10-11 03:45:16 · answer #1 · answered by fangtaiyang 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your son knew what was in the tea; that's why he drank it. He is not without blame. Why would you advise the school to keep him separated from the 17 year-old if they hadn't already been "partners" in other questionable activity? You knew that your son was capable of doing exactly what he did, that's why. The 17 year-old didn't talk to the doctor to "admit" what type cough medication had been taken. He had to say WHAT it was so the doctor would know exactly what he was dealing with and how best to treat your son.
You need to place the blame squarely on your son's shoulders and stop trying to lay it all on the school and the other person.
Under the circumstances, I think the suspension was fair.
2007-10-11 03:53:11 · answer #2 · answered by Laredo 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I would talk to the police about pressing charges against the other kid (for bringing drugs to school) and his parents for allowing him to get possession of dangerous drugs. Then I would file a lawsuit against them and the school for the medical bills incurred by your son.
You should contact a personal injury lawyer. There are many, many lawyers who work on contingency -- no money down, and you pay them out of the settlement you get. Look in your yellow pages (for the "no money down" ads) or call the bar association in your area for a referral. You have a good case, but you're do miles better with a lawyer.
2007-10-11 07:19:29 · answer #3 · answered by Hillary 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This obviously is not your fault or your son's fault. He should not have a suspension period! The kid was at fault for this. The school played a little part by not respecting your wishes by keeping him away from the kid, but how were they to know the kid's drink was laced? You need to take the kid and his parents to court for this! It is his and his parents responsibility to pay for the medical costs and for your's and your son's suffering. Do the right thing! You should even take your case to several lawyers, some will do pro-bono for a case like this to raise their name!
2007-10-11 03:37:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
He just happened to drink tea of a kid you and, presumably he, knew had these drugs, who you wanted your son to stay away from? Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd? I'd say you should talk with your son, have him serve his suspension, and not make a bigger deal out of this.
2007-10-11 03:40:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
You son is responsible. You can't take this substance without knowing it. He would defiantly notice the taste. Simply putting it in tea wouldn't even come close to masking the flavor. The school can't watch you son throughout the entire day because they just don't have the resources to do that. Hopefully your son has learned his lesson here. He needs to take responsibility because it is his own fault. As I said before you can't take this substance without knowing it.
2007-10-11 03:43:02 · answer #6 · answered by Jerbson 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
First talk to the school, then the police and then call the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
2007-10-11 03:46:13 · answer #7 · answered by ted j 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call the police yourself and see I you can press charges. If charges can be pressed, the DA or Asst DA will do it. I don't see why you would need a lawyer.
2007-10-11 03:35:47 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
he shouldn't be suspended...
2007-10-11 03:37:25 · answer #9 · answered by peter a 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋