Family Sues for $85M After 16-Year-Old Collapsed & Died at School — No One Responded for 9 Minutes

A Virginia family is suing Newport News Public Schools after their 16-year-old daughter died at her high school. The teen, who had a heart condition, collapsed in school, and the family alleges that school administrators failed to act in a timely manner back in February. Although staff offered some life-saving techniques, they weren’t enough.

They understand that filing the lawsuit won’t bring back their daughter. Instead, they want to use the lawsuit to teach the school district an important lesson about emergencies.

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The family is asking for a large amount of money.

The family of Kaleiah Jones is suing Newport News Public Schools for $85 million after the 16-year-old’s death. Jones, who attended Menchville High School, collapsed in the school hallway on February 20 as a result of a heart issue.

“We filed this lawsuit because we can’t just let people simply say ‘oh that was unfortunate’ and sweep it under the rug. If it was your child, would that be acceptable to you?” attorney Ben Crump said in a press conference reported by WAVY.

Jones' mother was able to view video footage of the incident.

The family was able to see video footage of the moment when Jones collapsed. Cocounsel Mark Krudys said it took nine minutes after the teen collapsed before a school resource officer began to administer CPR, but “unfathomably” he stopped after just 17 seconds.

“A number of people responded, but they failed to act,” Krudys said, per WAVY. “Kaleiah is down for 16 minutes, only for 17 seconds does somebody provide CPR to her, and nobody obtains the AED. There are three of them in that school and none were brought to the scene.”

The adults on the scene failed their responsibility to the teen, the lawyers say.

The legal team said the school was guilty of gross negligence and that Jones’ death was preventable, according to 13 News Now. They also brought up the Virginia state law that requires schools have AEDs available and have plans in place on how to use them. The school did have AEDs, but the attorneys claim that the school staff failed to use them.

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The family claims the school knew about the girl's condition.

Kaleiah Jones suffered from bradycardia and had recently had surgery, WTKR reported. According to her family, the school was aware of her condition, and had made accommodations for her.

“People are supposed to take care of her, make sure she’s safe, and at minimum, follow the state laws, follow the policies and regulations at the school and at most, follow common sense,” Crump said. “It’s common sense. A person passes out, you check for a pulse. You do CPR. You get a defibrillator.”

The family hopes the school uses the teen's death as a 'teachable moment.'

closeup of Kaleiah Jones
GoFundMe

“We’re standing here to be the voice of Kaleiah and hope that no other parent will have to stand in my place as the voice for their child,” said Jones’ mother, Keyonna Stewart, according to WAVY.

The Newport News School Board released a joint statement with Newport News Public Schools, as reported by multiple news outlets.

“The Newport News School Board and the Newport News Public Schools leadership team have kept Kaleiah Jones’ family and friends in our thoughts,” the statement read. “We cannot comment on the family’s pending lawsuit at this time. We know that their grief, pain and sadness are constant, and we continue to extend our deepest condolences to them.”