CNN
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A California college district agreed to pay $27 million to the authorized guardians of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally crushed in school in what the family’s attorneys say is the “the largest bullying settlement in the United States.”

Diego Stolz was a scholar at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley, California, on September 16, 2019, when he was sucker-punched in the top by two different male college students, in accordance to the lawsuit. He fell to the bottom and hit his head on a concrete pillar, inflicting a large mind damage, the lawsuit states.

The battle was captured on graphic video by a witness. Diego by no means regained consciousness and died 9 days later.

The wrongful demise lawsuit, filed in 2020, alleged that directors on the college had been warned earlier than that Diego was being bullied, but they “completely disregarded such warnings and did absolutely nothing to stop the bullying.” The go well with additionally accused the Moreno Valley Unified School District and its staff of “blatantly ignoring red flags that could have saved Diego’s life.”

The family’s regulation agency despatched CNN an announcement saying the settlement on Thursday, almost 4 years because the fatal battle.

“The family will forever be heartbroken by the death of Diego but they hope this case brings about change in school districts across the country,” lead counsel Dave Ring mentioned in the assertion. “Schools need to realize that bullying can never be tolerated and that any complaints of bullying and assault must be taken seriously. Diego’s death was preventable if this school had simply prioritized an anti-bullying policy.”

“This lawsuit has put schools on notice to find ways to effectively deal with bullying and to enact real anti-bullying policies,” legal professional Neil Gehlawat mentioned. “Although his family’s grief can never be taken away, we believe real change will come, and there will be a renewed focus on anti-bullying programs across the nation.”

The college district’s lawyer, Michael Marlatt, mentioned his shopper decided the settlement was a “fair and reasonable amount.”

“We recognized that this was tragic case with challenging legal issues,” Marlatt mentioned.

“Given the reality of the facts of the case and recent trend of jury verdicts, it made sense to have a resolution in the amount of $27 million,” he mentioned.

Moreno Valley Unified School District Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora despatched a letter to households and employees on Wednesday saying the settlement and highlighting some anti-bullying efforts over the previous few years.

“On behalf of the Moreno Valley Unified School District Board of Education, we want you to know that we truly care about each and every student and staff member in our district,” Kedziora wrote. “The news of Diego’s death was not something we took lightly. The safety and well-being of our students is and will remain our top priority.”

The two teenage boys concerned in the assault admitted to prices of involuntary manslaughter, in accordance to CNN affiliate KABC. They spent 47 days in juvenile custody and in 2021 have been sentenced to probation and launched to the custody of their mother and father, KABC reported.

The lawsuit alleges that Diego was “repeatedly bullied, both verbally and physically,” by different boys, together with two boys recognized as J.D. and M.E., throughout his seventh grade yr on the center college regardless of the family’s complaints to college directors.

The bullying continued initially of his eighth grade yr, and he was bullied and punched in the top on Thursday, September 12, main him to search assist from a science trainer on the college, the lawsuit states.

The trainer reported the incident to an assistant principal and famous the bullying was probably captured on college safety cameras, the go well with states. However, the assistant principal didn’t examine the footage and did nothing in response, the go well with states.

The subsequent day, Diego and his cousin – the daughter of his authorized guardian — met with the assistant principal in school, who associated that the bullies concerned could be suspended for 3 days and their schedules could be modified so they might not be in his class, the go well with states. Yet, on Monday when Diego returned to college, the bullies, recognized as J.D. and M.E., have been nonetheless in the college, the go well with states.

That day, as captured on the witness video, J.D. and M.E. confronted Diego, who stood there together with his fingers by his facet, the go well with states. J.D. then punched Diego in the face, and as he staggered backward, M.E. punched him from the facet, knocking his head right into a concrete pillar, the go well with states.

The principal and two assistant principals have been faraway from the center college after his demise, the attorneys mentioned in an announcement.

The center college didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.