Parents sue Mead district for daughter’s injuries

The parents of a Mount Spokane High School student are suing Mead School District for allegedly mishandling injuries their daughter sustained when a golf club hit her in the head during a physical education class.

Tom and Sandra Martin, parents of Sadie Martin, filed the lawsuit June 6. The incident occurred Oct. 6, when Martin was struck with a golf club swung “recklessly” by another student, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also claims the school did not provide adequate supervision.

According to the suit filed by attorney George Guinn, Martin’s parents could not be immediately reached because school employees could not find her emergency sheet. Once her father arrived 30 to 45 minutes after the incident, he made the school call 911.

The girl had a seizure prior to paramedics arriving, and she had another seizure in front of students and staff, the lawsuit says. She had a third seizure in the ambulance on the way to Sacred Heart Medical Center, according to the suit. Martin was in the intensive care unit for a number of days due to the head injury and is still under close supervision and treatment by medical professionals, the suit states.

The Martins’ suit seeks an award of damages that takes into account the injuries, medical bills, future pain, mental and emotional distress, and attorney fees.

Contacted this week, Guinn would not comment on the lawsuit and the Martin family could not be reached.

Mead superintendent Steve Enoch said in an e-mail that the incident was unfortunate.

“The lawsuit claim has been given to our legal counsel for review and response,” Enoch said. “An earlier claim for damages for this incident was rejected based on advice from our risk management assurance agency after they reviewed the facts as presented to them.”