LAKE CHARLES, La. (Legal Newsline) – The mother of a girl who suffered a bad asthma attack that led to a brain injury has lost another decision in a Louisiana appeals court in her attempt to assess blame.
This latest ruling, issued in June by the Third Circuit, is in favor of Iberia Parish School Board, which was sued by Georgette Raymond after her daughter Anaisha Prejean endured an attack at St. Charles Street Elementary School in Jeanerette in 2014.
Her third-grade teacher took her to the school office, and principal Allison O’Donnell administered two pumps from her inhaler. She also called Raymond, who was on the road for work and did not answer.
The school then called Anaisha’s aunt Cherrell, who has a child with asthma. Cherrell picked Anaisha up at the school about a half-hour after the asthma attack began.
But once at her grandmother Alice’s house, Anaisha fainted. Alice had reached mom Georgette to tell her she didn’t think the nebulizer treatment they were performing was working.
Ultimately, it was determined Anaisha suffered an apoxic ischemic brain injury that resulted in permanent disability. Georgette tried to blame the school for not using a Peak Flow Meter to monitor Anaisha’s symptoms before she was picked up and for calling family members immediately after the attack began instead of waiting up to 45 minutes to monitor her.
The school argued its legal obligation to Anaisha ended when aunt Cherrell picked her up.
“The trial court was also correct in concluding that the School Board was under no obligation to provide a Peak Flow Meter for use on students with asthma like Anaisha,” Judge Sylvia Cooks wrote. “Our review of the policies and procedures and applicable statutory law reveals no such requirement.
“We also reject Plaintiffs’ assertion that the School acted improperly when it contacted Anaisha’s caretakers immediately after she reported to the office rather than waiting forty-five minutes after administering treatment.
“The School cannot be faulted for acting with greater care and caution than its policies and procedures provided.”
It’s the second legal blow for Georgette Raymond, who told 911 dispatchers that her daughter was in trouble at an address in Jeanerette. But paramedics were sent to the same street address in a different town – Scott.
Last year, the Third Circuit ruled against Raymond’s claims against the county’s emergency services, which had transferred Raymond’s call to Acadiana Ambulance Services.
It was AASI, the court ruled, that had botched the response to Raymond’s call. Raymond has also sued AASI.