School Nurse Fails to Prevent Choking Death of Disabled Student

Case Overview

This case takes place in Illinois and involves a male child who died from suffocation due to choking while at a school serving students with disabilities. The student was newly-admitted and had a known history of choking hazard – he was not supposed to be left alone while eating, and required additional attention due to other developmental disabilities. During a school program, someone observed the student was not breathing. It was some time before 911 was called, and although the medics were able to remove pieces of food from the child’s airway, the child expired. It is alleged that school staff should not have allowed the child to eat unattended, and that the school nurse had a direct responsibility to prevent accidents like this from occurring.