WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The family of a Florida student with autism who died after choking on a chicken nugget was awarded $2 million in a settlement reached on Wednesday.
The School District of Palm Beach County reached an agreement with the family of Kedar Williams, 19, who died on Aug. 13, 2019, while eating at William T. Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, WPBF reported. In addition to the payment, the settlement includes improved training procedures for all para-professionals and any other staff members who interact with students with disabilities, the television station reported.
Williams, who attended a program for special needs students at the high school, was taken to an area hospital after choking on a chicken nugget, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
SDPBC reaches settlement with family of student with autism who died at school https://t.co/gC7pk415yz
— WPBF 25 News (@WPBF25News) March 25, 2021
Williams had a form of autism that made him mostly nonverbal, the newspaper reported. The boy also had a condition that made him prone to choking, and when he was 11 he nearly died from choking, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“Having your son wave goodbye to you in the morning, before school, and then never seeing him alive again is a mother’s worst nightmare. Our family has a gaping hole without Kedar in our lives,” the boy’s mother, Megan Williams, said in a statement.
Sia Baker-Barnes, the attorney representing Megan Williams, said the school district knew about Kedar Williams’ condition.
“The team, including his own personal physician, made it very clear to the school district that he needed a one-on-one paraprofessional at all times while at school,” Baker-Barnes told WPBF. “The school district knew it for years and years and years.”
The boy’s father, Jeffrey Williams, a teacher in Polk County, filed a separate lawsuit but will share in the $2 million settlement, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“He’s around children every day, so this is a reminder of the loss he feels,” Jeffrey Williams’ attorney, Salesia Smith-Gordon, told the newspaper.
Normally, there’s a $300,000 cap for negligence or liability cases unless a claims bill is filed in the Florida Legislature, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
But the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in federal court, in addition to state court, citing a violation of federal protections for students with disabilities, the newspaper reported. That enabled them to collect a larger settlement without the Legislature.
“While no amount of money will ever take away the pain caused by this tragedy, the School District of Palm Beach County hopes that the settlement reached with the Williams family will help to ease the burden of this tremendous loss,” district spokeswoman Claudia Shea said in a statement.
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