School district in Oklahoma sued for $125K after serious classroom injury

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — A family in Oklahoma told KOKH their son is still trying to recover several years after a serious injury in a class at Carl Albert Middle School in Midwest City.

Isaiah Stone said a former teacher in woodshop class told him to use a table saw that didn't have a blade guard or a riving knife.

It cut off three fingers on his left hand.

When I used it, all I could assume was that the board jumped," Stone said. "It was fast. My hand gets cut. I didn't know for a solid 10 seconds because I saw my spotter turn around and walk away. I felt a small pain in my hand that slowly intensified. I looked down, saw my hand and how it was. I started screaming and jumping up and down."

His mother, Karen, said her son was bleeding for 14 minutes until the school called 911.

"I don't understand that," Karen said. "No child should sit there with that severity and not get medical help immediately. He lost three fingers because of it. How the school can't be liable for this is mind-blowing to me."

The ordeal unfolded four years ago.

At the time, Isaiah was in seventh grade.

I was scared," Isaiah said. "I knew I was going to lose my hand. I didn't know how much. I mean, I think about it now, I had so many plans that I wanted to do. I wanted to join the military. That ain't happening."

After a long legal process, only just recently did the Stone family learn how much money they could sue the Mid-Del school district for: $125,000.

Michael Hill and Paul Kolker, who are the lawyers representing the Stone family, say that was the maximum amount the Stone's could've received under the law.

The unfortunate reality is that amount of money doesn't come close to compensating our clients for their loss," Kolker said. "As a consequence, they were forced to leave court with less than the amount that they're legally entitled to under ordinary circumstances."

Kolker said the Mid-Del school district purchases insurance coverage for far more than $125,000.

But due to a carefully worded endorsement, they're able to escape their obligations under the contract and pay less," Kolker said. "The school district has insurance coverage for these types of injuries, but it's not afforded because of a loophole in the law. We hope to change that."

Hill said a government entity like a school gets coverage that no other defendant gets.

With these caps, the school district knows what their worst day in court is going to be," Hill said.

Isaiah's family said medical bills cost $330,000. His lawyers said Isaiah's future treatment, along with the money he would've been able to make without the injury, will cost him more than $2.76 million.

This is what bothers me," Kolker said. "A school district is paying a premium for a million dollars in coverage, but is only being afforded $125,000 in effect. Worse, the victims are penalized in the same manner because they can't recover more than the law allows.

When the lawsuit judgement is finalized, Kolker said he plans to share the Stone family's situation with Oklahoma legislators. He hopes it convinces them to reconsider the $125,000 cap.

I think we're paying a great deal for coverage that's not being provided," Kolker said. "That should concern taxpayers and the legislature."

As for the Stone family, Karen said her son needs all the financial help he can get. She recently created a GoFundMe campaign for him in hopes of raising $150,000.

This is going to affect him for the rest of his life," Karen said. "There are so many things I sit here and watch him not be able to do because of this -- all because that teacher didn't want to put a safety guard on a table saw. If a cut was too small for a safety guard, that teacher should've made that cut, not a seventh-grader. He has difficulties cutting a piece of meat. There's not an amount of money that could make up for all of this."

KOKH reached out to the Mid-Del School District but a school public information officer said the district was unable to comment due to legal reasons.

This is currently ongoing litigation and we cannot provide statements or interviews during this time," according to the public information officer.