Portland high schooler files $4M suit after severing finger in shop class
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Franklin High School student has filed a $4.7 million lawsuit against Portland Public Schools after severing his finger in a wood shop class in 2022.
According to the lawsuit, filed May 30, students were instructed to use a pattern router to sculpt a small piece of wood as part of a larger project.
After the teacher provided a “brief introduction” on how to use the equipment, “the router’s fast whirring bit grabbed [the student’s] finger and mutilated, severed, and disfigured it,” according to the complaint first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The damage was significant, and the pain was immediate and unimaginable.”
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The complaint claims that the teacher did not supervise the student while he used the router, which lacked a standard safety feature that stops a bit when it encounters conductive material such as skin.
After the incident, a school nurse allegedly advised one of the student’s parents to take him to the nearest urgent care facility for treatment opposed to an emergency department, the lawsuit claims.
At the urgent care facility, the student and his parent were told his “extreme injury obviously required surgical and other medical interventions that the facility could not provide,” the complaint said, noting the delay in medical care caused further emotional distress.
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The student ultimately underwent a partial amputation to his index finger on his dominant hand and what is now the tip of his finger is sensitive and prone to painful abrasions, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit furthers that the student is harassed because of the injury, which is exacerbated by the teacher who refers to the student as a cautionary tale in class, the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit seeks the $4.7 million in damages alleging the district was negligent for not providing a safe environment for students and for failing to advise the student’s parent to take their child to the emergency department.
Portland Public Schools declined to comment on the lawsuit.
KOIN 6 News also reached out to the student’s attorney but has not heard back. This story will be updated if we receive a response.
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