Schools

Teacher Slammed Door Severing Student's Fingertips: Lawsuit

A former teacher at a Fort Meade school slammed a door, which severed a girl's fingertips, a lawsuit against the school system says.

FORT MEADE, MD — A former teacher at a Fort Meade school slammed a classroom door, which severed a girl's fingertips and has caused her lifelong harm, a lawsuit against the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system says. The mishap occurred on Oct. 9, 2017, at MacArthur Middle School, when a 13-year-old girl was hurt.

The lawsuit was filed last year by her father, Javier Benitez, and is set to go to trial June 18, reports The Capital. The family is seeking $75,000 in damages from the school board and claims that the school system and former teacher Steven Akers were negligent. He was dismissed from the lawsuit earlier and resigned in February 2018.

School district spokesman Bob Mosier said the system will not comment on the pending case.

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The family's lawsuit says Akers slammed the door while the girl had her on the casing to get the class' attention. In court documents, an attorney for the school district said the teacher did not mean to hurt the student as she leaned to look out a window next to the door.

Read the full story on the Capital-Gazette website.

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