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Swim teacher not liable in student's delayed drowning

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A high school swim teacher cannot be held liable in the “dry downing death” of a 15-year-old boy, says a federal appeals court in reversing a lower court ruling.

Tenth-grader Juanya Spady, a nonswimmer, was submerged for a matter of seconds during a 2010 swim class at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and possibly inhaled or swallowed water, according to Tuesday's ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in Mica D. Spady v. the Bethlehem Area School District et al.

Juanya then exited the pool and told gym teacher Carlton Rodgers that his chest hurt. Mr. Rodgers told Juanya to sit on the bleachers for a few minutes. Several minutes later, he denied the boy's request to remain out of the pool for the rest of the class and told him to get back in the water.

During his next period class, Juanya rolled off his chair and began to have a seizure. He was taken to the hospital, where he died later that day.

A medical report said Juanya had died of a condition known as “delayed drowning” or “secondary drowning” which can occur when a small amount of water or other fluid is inhaled into the lungs. If the fluid is not removed, it can cause the victim to asphyxiate. The rare condition occurs in only 1%-2% of drownings, according to the opinion.

Juanya's mother, Mica, filed suit against defendants including Mr. Rodgers, charging the teacher's actions violated her son's constitutional rights. The U.S. District Court in Philadelphia refused Mr. Rodger's motion for summary judgment dismissing the case.

However, a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit reversed the lower court and granted Mr. Rodgers summary judgment.

“Spady's claim is derived from the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,” which states the state shall not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” said the ruling.

“The question is whether the law in this context is so well-established that it would have been apparent to a reasonable gym teacher that failure to take action to assess a non-apparent condition that placed the student in mortal danger violated that student's constitutional right,” said the ruling.

Other cases where it has been held that that there were constitutional violations in school-athletic settings “did so where state actors engaged in patently egregious and intentional misconduct, which is notably absent here,” said the appeals court.

“Accordingly, we hold that Juanya did not have a clearly established constitutional right to dry-drowning-intervention protocols while participating in P.E. class,” said the court, in granting Mr. Rodgers summary judgment dismissing the case.

While the Bethlehem Area School District remains a defendant in the case, the ruling focused only on Mr. Rodgers.

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