The West Hartford Town Council voted unanimously on July 14 to approve a $20 million settlement of a lawsuit over the death of 5-year-old kindergartener Romeo D. Pierre Louis, who collapsed during recess at Charter Oak International Academy in 2022.
Lawyers for the parents who sued said the settlement appears to be the largest ever paid buy a Connecticut municipality.
According to the town, the settlement will be completely covered by the town’s excess liability insurance coverage.
The lawsuit claimed the death resulted from inadequate supervision by school staff during outdoor recess, which caused a delayed response to his serious medical emergency.
School staff who were present explained they wrongly assumed the boy was “playing dead” which they said was a common play-acting game by the children.
The city was unsuccessful in initially seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds it was shielded from liability by governmental immunity. A trial had been set to begin on September 10.
“This tragedy was not simply the result of an unforeseeable event,” said Joaquin Madry, the parents’ attorney. “It was the result of a failure to supervise. School districts should approach playground safety with the same seriousness they devote to every other aspect of student safety: clear policies, proper staffing, and continuous, diligent observation can save lives.”
Construction crews were pulled from a 37-story Midtown Manhattan building Tuesday morning after bricks were reported falling from the 21st floor, emergency officials said, prompting building evacuations and street closures in one of the city’s busiest corridors.
Pedestrian and vehicular traffic was closed in a swath of Manhattan near Grand Central Terminal, a major transit hub, as police, fire and building officials respond to the scene.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference that other buildings and a school have been evacuated while the site is secured.
The Fire Department of New York received a call at 7:57 a.m. reporting the falling debris at 235 East 42nd Street. Upon arrival, units determined that two columns had buckled on the 21st floor. No injuries have been reported.
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The New York Police Department received a separate 911 call at 8:11 a.m. reporting an unstable structure. Construction workers on the 21st floor told police they saw the columns beginning to buckle. All workers were safely evacuated.
Metro Loft Management and David Werner Real Estate Investments are leading the conversion, which also includes the adjacent tower at 219 East 42nd Street.
“We are aware of what happened and are working closely with the Department of Buildings to understand the full scope of the situation,” MetroLoft said in a statement. “The safety of our workers and the public has always been, and remains, our top priority.”