Lawsuit targets Wapato School District

A lawsuit filed against the Wapato School District alleges a student received serious injuries in a 2014 gym class because of negligence by school staff.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Yakima County Superior Court by a student identified only by the initials A.M., alleges the then-16-year-old student was doing pull-ups when another student placed a metal weight bar under him.

The bar entered the student’s rectum, causing serious internal injuries.

The other student may have intended the act as a prank, though it’s not entirely clear, said attorney Sergio Garcidueqas-Sease of the Tamaki Law Firm in Yakima, which represents the boy.

The lawsuit claims a physical education teacher and a teacher’s aide were present in the workout area but did not adequately supervise the class. It also alleges warnings were not in place about proper use of equipment.

The complaint, which does not request a specific dollar amount, said the boy was taken first to a Yakima hospital and then an unspecified facility for additional treatment.

He has largely recovered from his injuries, though he continues to struggle psychologically because of the traumatic incident, and the long-term impacts are not yet clear, Garcidueqas-Sease said.

The attorney handling the matter was not available Friday afternoon.

A spokesman for the school district said officials had yet to see the lawsuit and therefore could not comment.