Paralyzed Student Settles Personal Injury Lawsuit for $4.2M

A New Jersey school district agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle a personal injury lawsuit after a student was permanently paralyzed after being punched in the abdomen by another student in a bullying incident.

Sawyer Rosenstein’s attacker punched him in the stomach, causing him to suffer a rare injury called an infarct, which is a rupturing of an artery right above the navel. This caused blood flow to his spine to stop, leaving him paralyzed below the waist two days after the assault.

Over the next five years, he had to undergo 19 different surgeries, including a complete spinal fusion in November 2008. That procedure failed and he had to subsequently undergo the removal of the hardware bone at every level of his spine and a re-fusion in 2011. He has been wheelchair-bound since the accident.

According to the personal injury lawsuit, the student who attacked Rosenstein had a history of bullying prior to the incident. The lawsuit alleges that the attacker acted out violently towards several students throughout the 2005-06 school year, but no records were kept, nor was he disciplined, according to the New Jersey Law Journal (Subscription Required).

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a bullying incident, contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation. For legal help, call (877) 490-6520.

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