wingsfan
05-29-2003, 06:41 AM
If I had known there was only ONE adult for TWENTY kids in a HUGE pool and that he wasn't even dressed to be in the pool I would never have allowed my daughter to participate...i am SO angry they allowed such risks!! :mad:
Antwerp schools sued over probable drowning
By LISA NICELY
Staff Writer
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ANTWERP - The parents of a 9-year-old boy who drowned last year in the Antwerp Local Schools indoor swimming pool have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district, its superintendent and the swimming class instructor.
Christopher Thompson was a fourth-grade student at Antwerp when he allegedly drowned during a swimming class on Sept. 30, 2002. The Paulding County coroner determined the cause of Thompson’s death was a probable drowning.
In the suit, filed in Paulding County Common Pleas Court, Thompson’s parents, Chadwick and Julie Thompson, allege that in violation of state revised and administrative codes: the teacher, Drew Altimus, was acting as both lifeguard and swimming instructor when law requires a lifeguard and an instructor to be on duty, that Altimus did not have lifeguard or first aid certification, and he was not prepared (dressed in a sweatsuit) to go into the water at the time of the incident.
According to the complaint, Altimus had told superintendent Dave Bagley in the spring of 2002 that he was no longer certified as a lifeguard. The suit also alleges that Altimus did not tell Bagley he did not have any other certifications, such CPR and first aid, and Bagley did not ask Altimus if he had other certifications.
The suit also alleges that when Altimus saw Thompson at the bottom of the pool, he asked three other children to rescue him and that Altimus never went into the water.
The “conduct of Bagley, Altimus and Antwerp school district, each individually and collectively, was a direct and proximate cause of (Thompson’s) death,” the suit claims.
Bagley declined comment on the lawsuit, but the district’s attorney, Joan Szuberla of Spengler, Nathanson Attorneys at Law in Toledo, stated that a response to the suit would be filed in court within the next month.
“There were no violations of applicable Ohio law,” said Szuberla. “We believe it will be found that no defendant violated any law applicable.”
The Thompson family is seeking a money judgment in excess of $25,000.
Antwerp schools sued over probable drowning
By LISA NICELY
Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANTWERP - The parents of a 9-year-old boy who drowned last year in the Antwerp Local Schools indoor swimming pool have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district, its superintendent and the swimming class instructor.
Christopher Thompson was a fourth-grade student at Antwerp when he allegedly drowned during a swimming class on Sept. 30, 2002. The Paulding County coroner determined the cause of Thompson’s death was a probable drowning.
In the suit, filed in Paulding County Common Pleas Court, Thompson’s parents, Chadwick and Julie Thompson, allege that in violation of state revised and administrative codes: the teacher, Drew Altimus, was acting as both lifeguard and swimming instructor when law requires a lifeguard and an instructor to be on duty, that Altimus did not have lifeguard or first aid certification, and he was not prepared (dressed in a sweatsuit) to go into the water at the time of the incident.
According to the complaint, Altimus had told superintendent Dave Bagley in the spring of 2002 that he was no longer certified as a lifeguard. The suit also alleges that Altimus did not tell Bagley he did not have any other certifications, such CPR and first aid, and Bagley did not ask Altimus if he had other certifications.
The suit also alleges that when Altimus saw Thompson at the bottom of the pool, he asked three other children to rescue him and that Altimus never went into the water.
The “conduct of Bagley, Altimus and Antwerp school district, each individually and collectively, was a direct and proximate cause of (Thompson’s) death,” the suit claims.
Bagley declined comment on the lawsuit, but the district’s attorney, Joan Szuberla of Spengler, Nathanson Attorneys at Law in Toledo, stated that a response to the suit would be filed in court within the next month.
“There were no violations of applicable Ohio law,” said Szuberla. “We believe it will be found that no defendant violated any law applicable.”
The Thompson family is seeking a money judgment in excess of $25,000.