May 4, 2018
My brother who is 18 years old was violently attacked by another student while in school. The video footage that the school showed me showed my brother was punched when he wasn’t looking which knocked my brother unconscious. While unconscious, the student got on top of my brother and kept punching him repeatedly at least 8 more times or so until other students intervened and pulled the student off of my brother. A school nurse immediately called the ambulance afterwards to have my brother transported to the hospital where we found he has a fractured jaw which may result in nerve damage, a broken nose and some other injuries.
The student was arrested and when visiting the local police precinct the next day, we found he was already released and through a friend, found that the police report simply indicated it was one punch/a “normal school fight.”
The school never provided us with details of the police report or anything else. I want to ensure this student is prosecuted appropriately but not sure how to proceed with providing additional details e.g. hospital noted injuries, photos and most importantly the video. Is there a type of lawyer I need to get for this/any advice?
Those are pretty bad injures. Call the DA's office for an update. Let them know you are taking an interest in this. Take photos of his injuries. Get the ER record. Obtain the Police report from the precinct - get it amended if necessary. In terms of a civil claim against the school, these cases turn on whether it could have been prevented. Stephenson v. City of New York, 2011-05178 (N.Y.App.Div. 06/16/2011) You'd do well to retain an attorney to pursue this.
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