Local News

Family Of Student Who Died At School Files Suit

MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ― The parents of a student who died at a Northwest Miami-Dade middle school last year have filed a negligence lawsuit against the school district.

12-year-old Pateesha Clinch died in September 2007 at Westview Middle School in between classes. Witnesses say Clinch had been rough-housing with friends when she was pushed and fell, hitting her head on the side of a portable classroom.

Her parents say their daughter suffered "reasonably foreseeable injuries" from the fall that caused or contributed to her death. They both expressed heartache over everything that has happened and continues to happen.

"My insides, sometimes they're just empty," said Daryl Clinch. "You don't expect to take them to school and have them not come home," Meka Clinch added.

According to the medical examiner's office, the sixth grader had no observable trauma. An autopsy found Clinch had a rare, undetected heart condition that may have caused sudden cardiac arrest.

The girl's parents say she was always healthy and that the fall and subsequent blow to the head likely "triggered whatever underlying condition she had."

The lawsuit claims teachers at the school knew students pushed each other between classes and failed in their responsibility to supervise them.
According to the family's attorney, no hall monitors were in the area when Clinch died.

"We believe that that was the case, that this school not only knew but should have known this was ongoing," said Gregg Schwartz, the family attorney.

A spokesman for the school system said because a lawsuit had been filed, he could not comment.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)

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