Posted on 10/28/2014 3:04:40 PM PDT by knak
MILFORD -- The family of a 7-year-old girl is suing the city and the Milford Public Schools after officials allegedly refused to allow the child to return to school following a family trip to Nigeria. According to the 16-page suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, city officials said they based their decision on fears over the outbreak of Ebola overseas.
But a lawyer representing the child and her family said she was never sick, and was never at risk for the disease and that the city and school district acted irresponsibly. "One would think that a school, an instituion of learning, wouldn't take such an action," said Gary Phelan, a partner at the law firm Mitchell and Sheahan in Stratford. "They decided it's more important to go along with fears, stereotypes and a lack of information" than to protect the student.
The family is seeking $250,000 in damages and asking that the child be allowed to return to class immediately at Meadowside Elementary School, where she is a third grader.
According to the lawsuit, the child -- Ikeoluwa Opayemi -- traveled with her father, Stephen Opayemi Oct. 2 to 13 to Lagos, Nigeria for a family wedding. On the Oct. 10, Milford health director and school medical advisor Andrew Dennis McBride reportedly called Ikeoluwa's mother, Ikeolapo Opayemi, and told her that the Connecticut Department of Public Health had told local public health departments to screen everyone who had recently traveled to Africa for Ebola. The mother aggreed that her daughter could be screened when she returned to the United States.
But, the day that Ikeoluwa and her father came back into the country, McBride reportedly called the family and said that Ikeoluwa shouldn't return to Meadowside, due to concern from some parents and teachers that she could transmit Ebola to other students.
Ebola is a contagious illness that has killed more than 4,000 people, mostly in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Though there was a small outbeak of Ebola in Nigeria, which caused 19 illness and seven deaths, there hasn't been a case in the country in more than a month.
Department of Public Health spokesman William Gerrish wouldn't comment on whether the department has requested screenings of everyone who has been to Africa. However, screening protocols released by the department of health released on Monday only said that travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone would be monitored for Ebola upon returning to the United States. Nigeria hasn't been mentioned as a "red flag" country by state health authorities.
According to the lawsuit, after McBride's request, Stephen Opayemi offering to have his daughter screened by an independent doctor for Ebola. McBride reportedly declined.
At a meeting on Oct. 15, between McBride, Ikeoluwa's parents, Milford Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Feser and Meadowside principal Gail Krois, McBride said Ikeoluwa should be kept at home for 21 days. The lawsuit alleges that McBride told the family "although the `risk of infection' with Ikeoluwa might be minor, the primary reason for his decision that she be `quarantined' at home for 21 days was due to the rumors, panic and climate at Meadowside."
A few days later, Stephen Opayemi sent an email to McBride, Feser and Krois saying that, unless he received an official email confirming McBride's instructions to keep his dauther at home, his daughter would return to school on Monday, Oct. 20. During a follow-up meeting between Feser, Ikeoluwa's parents and other school officials, Feser said the girl shouldn't return to school until this coming Monday. Feser added that if the girl did return to school on Oct. 20, she would be removed by police.
McBride wouldn't comment on the lawsuit, saying he can't speak on pending litigation.
Ikeoluwa remains at home, despite completing a medical evaluation on Oct. 24 that concluded that she was health and could participate in school without restrictions. Phelan said Ikeoluwa has been tutored at home since the "quarantine" order was issued.
Phelan is suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Though Ikeoluwa doesn't have a disability, Phelan said the act also protects those who don't have a disability, but are treated like they do.
Suing under the ADA means the family can't seek punitive damages, Phelan said. The parents are just looking to be compensated for legal costs and their daughter's emotional trauma and for their daughter to be allowed to return to school as soon as possible.
He said the Opayemi family was reluctant to file the suit, but ultimately decided to do so for several reasons. The first was so "their daughter, in the future, would know they fought for her," Phelan said.
But Phelan said the family also hopes to quell some of the misinformation about Ebola and to prevent other families from going through this. "Perhaps this will deter other municipalities from taking this kind of action," he said.
The point is, Nigeria is not an Ebola plague area. Liberia is, and the names are similar.
To be fair, Nigeria currently does not have an Ebola epidemic. We have more cases here. AND they have travel restrictions.
They’re actually doing better than we are and, from this public health standpoint, a person is safer in Nigeria than they are here.
Hell, *WE* are sending people to Nigera to figure out how they’re managing this so well. OUR CDC IS TAKING LESSONS FROM NIGERIA.
So, yes. The district is over reacting.
But Nigeria is safer than the US. THEY actually have a travel ban on the infected countries. WE are sending CDC officials to Nigeria to get lessons in stopping an Ebola outbreak.
You have a better chance of catching Ebola in the US than you do Nigeria right now.
We’re importing the disease. They’re stopping it at the border.
All of Africa is not the problem. Three countries are.
“They should be fined for frivolous law suits.”
Why? They’re right. The school district is over reacting and flat-out wrong.
A quarter million is stupid, but there is no reason for this little girl not to go to school.
How the hell do you say the kid’s name....
Are we all sick of reading stories about “Americans” with names nothing like Bob, Mike, or Tom, and more like Zippity Doo Dah?
I weep for my country, and so far I am not weeping blood like the O’bola infected being shipped here by the muslim usurper,may he burn in the lake of fire for all eternity.
No, they don't.
I misspoke. They do have travel *restrictions* and their main airline does not allow any flights from the restricted countries.
Their travel restrictions are a lot like ours - monitoring people upon entry from affected areas, etc. And, of course, none of our airlines fly to the affected countries either.
Yes, gutter scum. You can be highly educated scum. All you have to do is hire a sleazy lawyer and sue a school district for trying to protect its students.
What, exactly, were they protecting their students from?
Wouldn’t it be a better idea to scrap the tutor and let the child “attend’ class on skype, where she can be called on and participate and maintain her regular routine? Wouldn’t active participation lessen the alienation and build empathy of the other students to her and ease her transition back in school? Mom could provide ‘recess’ activities.
Do you think the family deserves to rape the Milford taxpayers of $250,000 over an "overreaction"?
Absolutely not. But that doesn’t mean the school’s actions here are defensible. And they’re not - the school was 100% in the wrong here.
I totally agree. Have worked with enough of them - ain’t we all had to?!
I’d like to see it pointing out hard though - that someone you could reasonably expect to be intelligent, community oriented and compassionate (those are what Lefties call themselves, right? You can make a pretty safe bet that he’s a lefty, regardless.) are even worse for grabbing the brass ring than the low educated. Inner city types at least have an excuse, poor though it may be.
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