In April 2023, a 17-year-old high school student with a severe nut allergy fell into a coma and died after being told by school staff that a dessert she consumed was nut free. Her father is now suing the Florida school district.
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The high school, Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville, Florida, was serving baklava to the students at the time. Brown asked the school staff if the dessert, which typically contains nuts, was nut free. She was allegedly informed that it was.
The lawsuit filed by her father, Steven Brown, said that she soon “discovered that the food she had consumed contained pistachio nuts.” Not long after finding out that the dessert contained nuts, the teenager started to experience allergy symptoms.
The Daily Mail reported that Brown notified a member of the staff that she was having a reaction.
The suit stated that the district was “aware that she had eaten nuts and was experiencing symptoms associated with her food allergy.” Despite being aware of the teen’s reaction, they still did not send her to the school nurse.
Brown then left school and rushed to a nearby pharmacy to purchase Benadryl to help with her symptoms. The student arrived at the pharmacy and soon “experienced anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest” due to the allergic reaction. Three days later, she fell into a coma and died.
Teen’s Father Is Suing School District For Failing To Follow Allergy Management Plan Guidelines
The teen’s father is now suing the school district. He claimed the district “was well aware of his child’s fatal allergy” and had “developed a Food Allergy Management and Prevention Plan for her.”
The lawsuit stated that upon signs of an allergic reaction the school staff should not allow students to “walk alone to the school nurse or permitted to ride the school bus.”
The plan also reportedly included “guidelines to ensure a safe and healthy educational environment” for students with allergies. The suit claims that the staff “breached it’s duty” to Kayleen after not following the plan’s guidelines.
The teen’s father is suing the Duval County Public School District for “unspecified damages that exceed $50,000. The amount is due to the “direct and proximate result of DCPS’ negligence.”
“My immediate thing was, you know, ‘Why did she leave school?’ Or ‘Why was she allowed to leave school if the teacher was aware that she was having an allergic reaction?'” the father told News4JAX. “My first thing would be like, ‘Why wasn’t 911 called?'”
Following Brown’s passing, a GoFundMe page was created to assist her family in paying for her medical expenses. The fundraiser has already collected more than $28,000.