Young Disabled Student Abused by School Behavioral Analyst

[Guest guest]

Law Firm News Young Special Needs Student Abused by School Behavioral

Analyst

October 24, 2008

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Adam Balkan, Balkan & , LLP

Chrissy Lane, BARD Marketing/PR

St. Lucie County, Florida – Schools are thought to be safe institutions for

learning and education, and parents trust that their children will be

treated well and nurtured by their teachers, especially at the elementary

school level. However, a young boy received very different treatment from a

behavioral analyst at the Oak Hammock Elementary School in St. Lucie County.

A lawsuit has been filed against the school board of St. Lucie County for

failing to protect their student from harm that was inflicted on him by a

behavioral analyst on school grounds. As a special needs student, the

plaintiff, a minor, needed additional help in school and was working with a

behavioral analyst when he was dragged down a hallway in the school,

physically abused and injured. The defendant had a questionable record that

was not fully investigated by the school before he was hired.

" The school board and all parties involved had a responsibility to this

innocent child to protect him against any kind of abuse, and they failed to

do so, " said the plaintiff's attorney, Adam Balkan of the law firm of Balkan

& , LLP. " The fact that he received this type of treatment in a

public school is absolutely intolerable. "

He continued, " The school board failed to recognize and disclose that the

defendant had a prior record that would make his active involvement with

children questionable, leaving innocent students open for potential harm.

This is not the way that the school system, in which we entrust our

children, can act. "

The plaintiff received treatment for physical and mental abuses, and that

treatment continues today. His health care providers predict that he will

require medical care in the long term future.

Mr. Balkan, acting on behalf of A.M. and J.M., parents and legal guardians

of the student, has filed a complaint in the Circuit Court in and of the

19th Judicial Circuit of St. Lucie County. Katz of Katz & Katz is

co-counsel on the case. For more information, please visit

www.balkanpatterson.com.

Adam M. Balkan is a partner in the law firm of Balkan & , LLP. The

firm was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, at 601

S. Federal Highway, Suite 302. Mr. Balkan can be contacted at (561)

750-9191. Additional information about Balkan & , LLP may be

obtained from the firm's website at www.balkanpatterson.com.

--

Ari Ne'eman

President

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

http://www.autisticadvocacy.org