On February 27, 2024, The Lewis Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a disabled young woman who was left alone on a locked school bus for several hours and suffered severe emotional injuries.
“Jane Doe” has a genetic disorder which makes her nonverbal. Each day she attends a special program at Warren Township High School. On the day in question, the bus driver decided not to check the bus for students (as required by the school district’s safety policies) and instead just parked and locked the bus in an empty bus parking lot three miles from the school.
Jane Doe could not communicate for help because of her extremely compromised medical condition. Several hours later when her parents learned from the school that their daughter was not present in class, they called the police and a missing person hunt ensued. Doe was found on the school bus, still sitting in her seat, traumatized.
“Jane Doe’s parents entrusted their daughter’s safety to Warren Township School District 121 and the Board of Education. The bus driver acted with utter indifference for our client’s safety by not checking the bus before locking it up and leaving,” said Brian Lewis, founding and managing partner of the Lewis Law Firm. “Jane Doe is nonverbal and could not scream for help. She does not use a phone. She was terrified, as were her parents.” Added Lewis, “This is why I do what I do for a living. I protect people when they cannot protect themselves. This lawsuit will hold the school district responsible. This could have been any of our children.”
The lawsuit was filed on February 28, 2023, and is pending in the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County, Illinois.
