An 8-year-old child has been burned after drinking from a water fountain when at school. The reasons for the absurd fountain, and the school's response make this story rather ridiculous. Although it's had terrible consequences for the victim.
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The family of a third-grader has filed a lawsuit against Dos Amigos, an Inwood city charter school in New York. The New York Post obtained the court papers.
Ridiculously, the school had set up a water fountain intentionally connected to hot water pipes. This being accessible by the children at the school was already a recipe for disaster. The third-grader, not named, took an unassuming sip of the hot water fountain.
This led to nasty burns upon her mouth, lips, and face. Considering it was used by a small third-grader, it's safe to assume that the fountain had no warning signs and was low enough to be operated by a child. This already paints a truly absurd picture that makes you wonder what the school was thinking.
According to the documents, the school didn't alert the family about the incident, nor did they send her home.
Why did they have this fountain, you ask? The family alleges the fountain was set up to assist staff in making warm beverages. Why this wasn't hidden away in the staff room is beyond me.
The School Then Quickly Removed The Fountain To Hide Evidences
Having the fountain in the first place is a major screw-up, but how the school responded is almost even worse.
"Dos Amigos removed the fountain the very next day, in an apparent effort to hide the evidence and/or prevent L.E.'s parents from investigating the matter and/or taking any pictures of the fountain," the filing says.
Despite this, the family lawyer was able to identify that the fountain lacked a safety valve, so an inspection was able to be pulled off.
The fountain was whisked away while the parents were in a meeting with the school administration. The family says this was done to "prevent the parents from inspecting the fountain themselves."
This event happened on January 10 last year. It is unknown and unreported what happened in the year between the incident and the outlet obtaining court documents. It is also unknown what exactly will happen next.
It's unimaginable that a child would have to suffer this much due to several layers of incompetence from grown adults. Although we have yet to hear the school's defence, I can't imagine a scenario that would justify this happening.
