Phone: (516) 487-8207
Jury awards $700K in special education abuse case Associated PressSAN JOSE, Calif. - The parents of a 10-year-old girl with an autism-like disorder were awarded $700,000 by a federal jury that found the girl's special education teacher physically abused the child. The jury ordered the Cupertino Union School District to pay Craig and Ann Gaydos, who sued in 2003 claiming an elementary school teacher abused their daughter Paige who has Asperger's syndrome. Eisenhower Elementary School teacher Karen Miller was accused of rubbing a burrito in Paige's face and hair, kicking the child, and pushing her on the floor and sitting on her in incidents in 2001 and 2002 when the girl was 7 years old. Paige's parents learned of the abuses from a teacher's aide, and Miller left the district a short time later to teach in Clearlake. "We're totally vindicated," said Craig Gaydos. "It's an absolute relief that it's over. All we wanted to say all along was that Cupertino had a problem and needed to fix it." Defense lawyer Mark Davis, who represented Miller and the district, said he's considering asking the judge to reverse the decision or to call for a new trial. "We don't believe the evidence found or supported a finding of liability against any of the defendants," Davis said. "And given the plaintiff's injuries, a bump on the head and a bruise on the arm, that $700,000 was excessive."
Read More About Jury awards $700K in special education abuse caseAssociated...