Mom sues Horry County school over alleged playground negligence
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Forestbrook Elementary employees failed to respond to a child who fell off a slide that resulted in a broken arm — waiting hours before even informing the principal about what happened, a newly filed lawsuit against Horry County Schools asserts.
The suit, filed Jan. 24 in Horry County, seeks a jury trial for unspecified financial damages on claims negligence and breach of duty in connection with the February 2022 incident. The victim is identified only though the initials J.V.
According to the suit, other students had to notify adult staff that the child had fallen, and there was no medical personnel on campus at the time of the accident.
The suit also says Forestbrook’s principal wasn’t informed until 8:30 p.m. that same day.
“Further, no emergency personnel were called by staff to the school site, even those directly attending to J.V,” the suit says. “The school staff called J.V.’s parents who then rushed to pick their son up to immediately take him to the emergency room for treatment of his injuries.”
An Horry County Schools spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment, but district leaders have said in the past they don’t comment on pending litigation.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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