Penn. School District Failed to Protect Students From Toxic Water, Class Action Says

A Pennsylvania school district was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it failed to protect students against toxic levels of lead contamination in its water.

Lead plaintiffs, a student and her mother, allege in their class action lawsuit that in 2016 Butler Area School District received test results indicating the presence of both lead and copper levels “far in excess” of acceptably safe water standards at the plaintiff’s school, Summit Elementary.

“The Defendants in concert with the Defendant District’s Maintenance Director, made a conscious and intentional decision to neither warn the students of this dangerous condition nor take any appropriate steps to fix the dangerous condition so as to protect Representative Plaintiff and all other similarly situated students from the dangers related thereto,” the lawsuit states.

According to the class action, lead can cause damage to the brain and kidneys and can interfere with the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Children are especially susceptible to the effects of lead contamination, specifically permanent damage to their central nervous systems.

The plaintiff claims that school officials had an obligation to notify students and their parents to avoid exposure to contaminated water at the elementary school, but failed to do so.

“At all relevant times, the Defendants knew or should have known that scientists have linked the effects of lead on the brain to lowered IQs in children and a myriad of other serious medical conditions,” allege the plaintiffs.

The class action argues that Butler Area School District personnel were required to implement an “Action Plan” in response to the report of toxic levels of lead and copper in school drinking water which should have included stopping the use of drinking water outlets at the schools. However, allege the plaintiffs, parents and students were not informed about the contamination until January of 2017.

Further, despite the “gross delay” in notifying students and their parents school officials “chose not to offer any type of medical testing, monitoring and/or treatment for the children in order to determine the extent to which they may have been harmed and/or required medical treatment and/or therapy,” the lawsuit claims.

According to the class action complaint, the minor plaintiff has had to be medically tested for her exposure to toxic water and will require additional medical care. Additionally, the situation has caused the elementary school student “extreme mental and emotional anguish and distress, causing severe depression, nightmares, stress, and/or anxiety, some or all of which have or may require psychological treatment.”

The plaintiff seeks to represent students in her elementary school who were exposed to allegedly toxic water between Aug. 15, 2016, when school officials were informed and Jan. 20, 2017, when parents and students were notified.

The plaintiff is seeking damages for actual and potential harm caused by the lead and copper levels in Summit Elementary School’s drinking water, as well as reimbursement for medical expenses, including future testing for harmful effects.

The plaintiffs are represented by Douglas J. Olcott and Caitlin M. Harrington of Dallas Hartman PC, and Brendan B. Lupetin of Meyers Evans Lupetin & Unatin LLC.

The Pennsylvania School District Toxic Water Class Action Lawsuit is Tait v. Butler Area School District, et. al., Case No. 2:17-cv-00182-AJS, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.