Families file complaints after 2018 lab ‘explosion’
Two families have filed complaints against the Sumner County (Tennessee) Board of Education in connection with an explosion last year at Merrol Hyde Magnet School.
The school in Hendersonville, Tennessee, was evacuated on May 9, 2018, when a science experiment caused a hazardous materials problem. Seventeen students and a teacher were injured. The teacher and eight students were taken to nearby hospitals.
The Hendersonville Fire Department’s investigation found that the incident was caused by mixing boric acid — a white, odorless substance — and ethyl alcohol. Investigators deemed the incident “unintentional,” according to a previous report.
THE FIRST COMPLAINT
Hendersonville parents filed a complaint with their son in the Circuit Court for Sumner County on March 5, alleging “personal injuries … caused by negligence” of the teacher employed by the board of education.
The family is seeking $100,000 and medical expenses, according to the complaint, signed by attorney Joseph Y. Longmire Jr. of Hendersonville.
Around 8:50 a.m. on May 9, 2018, the student was in a teacher’s science classroom.
When that teacher left the room, taking some students to read books to other children, another science teacher stepped in to stay with the other students in the class, according to the complaint.
That teacher, “while in the role of supervising the students in the classroom lit an open flame … within the classroom and placed a chemical substance in a bowl and poured a liquid over it,” the complaint reads.
“Suddenly and without notice, the substance ‘flashed’ and exploded and hurled a large flame over the immediate area where the [student] was seated near the table involved and set fire to [his] hair, skin and shirt.”
The teacher used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
The student “suffered burns to his entire face, including forehead, cheeks, around the lips and chin, neck and right ears in addition to burns on his left dorsal hand and wrists,” according to the complaint. He received “intense” medical treatment.
The family says the student experienced “loss of enjoyment of life and permanent disability” in addition to the “pain and suffering” and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the explosion.
THE SECOND COMPLAINT
On April 3, a woman filed another complaint for her daughter, claiming personal injury stemming from the same incident. The two are identified only as Mother Doe and Daughter Doe in the filing, signed by Hendersonville attorney Rocky McElhaney.
The family seeks $750,000 in relief to Daughter Doe and $100,000 to Mother Doe in compensatory damages for medical bills.
Before the explosion, the girl was in an English class. She and several other students were taken to the science teacher’s classroom, according to the complaint.
The teacher “was mixing chemicals and burning materials, in preparation for a later class, while supervising Daughter Doe and other students,” the complaint states. “Suddenly and without warning, there was an explosion in the classroom, causing severe injuries to Daughter Doe and other individuals.”
The complaint alleges that the teacher “was aware of the risk” and “was negligent” in burning the substances while supervising students.
“As a result of the explosion, Daughter Doe suffered serious and significant injuries,” the complaint states. “Due to the severity of these injuries, they are permanent in nature … Mother Doe incurred significant medical expenses due to Daughter Doe’s injuries.”
The girl received treatment to burns on her face, chest and arms. The incident caused her physical pain, emotional distress, “scarring and disfigurement,” and other damages, according to the complaint. It alleges that the Sumner County Board of Education knew of its employee’s plan to burn the materials that caused injuries to students.
SUMNER BOARD OF EDUCATION ANSWERS
In its separate answers to the complaints filed May 6 and May 13, respectively, the Sumner County Board of Education “is without sufficient knowledge to admit or deny” many of the allegations but denies any negligence.
“The minor may have been sitting too close to the experiment,” the board suggested in the filing.
The board of education aims for the complaints to be dismissed and reimbursement for attorney fees, according to the May 6 and May 13 answers, signed by Sumner County Law Director Leah May Dennen.
“It is possible the Daughter Doe was sitting on top of a table, instead of in her chair, when the event occurred,” the Sumner Board of Education’s amended answer filed June 19 states. “Had she been sitting in her chair, as she should have been, the accident could have been avoided.”