OGDEN — The mother of a 7-year-old boy who died from a congenital heart condition in 2010 after participating in a Halloween parade at Horace Mann Elementary School is suing the Ogden School District for more than $300,000 in damages.
Maria Flores filed the wrongful death suit last week in 2nd District Court on behalf of her son, Jose Edwardo Flores Bedolla, who was a first-grader at Horace Mann at the time of his death.
Flores could not be reached Thursday for comment. Her attorney, James R. Hasenyager, also declined to comment.
The suit contends the Ogden School District didn’t take precautions to prevent the boy’s death.
“The defendant, its agents or employees negligently and carelessly failed to monitor his medical condition as he lay dying on the school bench as he waited for family members to arrive,” the suit states.
Ogden School District officials refused to discuss the suit.
“This (suit) has been received by the Ogden School District,” said Donna Corby, district spokeswoman. “We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Bedolla suffered from a congenital heart condition, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, according to the lawsuit. The condition occurs when the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website www.mayoclinic.com.
When Bedolla entered kindergarten and first grade at Horace Mann, his heart condition and medical care needs were explained to school district officials, his teachers and the school’s administrative staff, states the lawsuit.
The complaint claims the school district failed to formulate an Individualized Health Care Plan and Emergency Care Plan for Bedolla.
On Oct. 29, 2010, Horace Mann held a Halloween parade for students and Bedolla attended, dressed as a policeman. School district employees made Bedolla participate in the school’s Halloween activities, the suit states.
However, Bedolla’s heart condition made him susceptible to becoming hypoxic, which means he did not get enough oxygen to his heart and body, according to the suit.
“Edwardo began to exhibit signs and symptoms of his medical condition including difficulty breathing as he became hypoxic,” the lawsuit states. “He was told to sit on a bench outside the school office to wait for his mother or another family member to come pick him up.”
Bedolla sat on the bench alone without medical supervision, observation or monitoring until he became cold to the touch and bluish in color because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen, the suit states.
Bedolla’s older sister arrived at the school to pick him up while his mother waited outside in a car.
Bedolla told his sister that he was having trouble breathing and she carried him from the school and placed him on her mother’s lap in the car and prepared to drive him to McKay-Dee Hospital’s emergency room, the suit indicates.
Bedolla’s sister, while driving to McKay-Dee, called 911 and met paramedics at the Smith’s grocery store parking lot at 12th Street and Harrison Boulevard. Bedolla died at the hospital as a result of heart failure.
Flores is seeking in excess of $300,000 in damages for the loss of companionship and to cover the boy’s medical and funeral costs.
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