Jury awards family $15 million after student dies in L.A. Unified

Los Angeles Unified owes a family $15 million after their son died during a middle school P.E. class in 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The jury found that the district was liable because even though a defibrillator was located on campus, staff didn’t know it was there and didn’t use it to help the boy, who had collapsed while running laps during a morning P.E. class at Palms Middle School. The verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court was unanimous.

The family is “devastated by the loss of their son,” attorney Gary Casselman told the Times. “(But they’re) gratified that the jury rendered a verdict in their favor. … Nothing will bring him back, but they wanted accountability from the district.”

The district had no comment on the case.

The case is similar to one that the district settled last year, in which another middle school boy collapsed during P.E. class and later died. In that case, staff likewise were not aware there was a defibrillator on campus. The district settled that case for $9 million.