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Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools settled for nearly $159,000 Monday with an elementary school student who lost part of her finger when a substitute teacher accidentally closed it in a door.
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The child’s mother, Boijengo Brake, filed a lawsuit this year, claiming Rashkis Elementary School substitute teacher Suzane Maley was negligent in supervising, monitoring and ensuring that the girl, then 9 years old, was safe.
The district was also negligent, it says, for failing to ensure a safe student environment and adequately supervise and train its employees in increased supervision and safety protocols necessary for working with autistic and nonverbal students.
District records show Maley was hired as an Exceptional Children’s substitute teacher in September 2023.
The lawsuit sought reimbursement for medical expenses and damages in excess of $25,000.
The teacher and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools “knowing that Minor-Plaintiff … was an autistic, non-verbal child who could not verbally communicate danger or readily protect herself, owed a heightened duty of care to ensure her physical safety through constant visual supervision by its employees and/or agents, including Suzane Maley,” it states.
Maley was filling in for the student’s regular teacher in an Exceptional Children’s class on March 8, 2024, when the girl, who is autistic and nonverbal, attempted to follow her through an office doorway, the lawsuit states.
Maley closed the door behind her, unaware that the student had her right ring finger in between the door and the door jamb, it says. The student’s fingertip was cut off, and the school called Emergency Medical Services to take her to UNC Hospitals for treatment.
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The hospital could not reattach the girl’s fingertip, so her finger was sewn closed, it states. She underwent another procedure when her fingernail started to grow back, in addition to participating in occupational therapy visits, the girl’s attorney John McCabe said.
Employer’s Mutual Casualty Co. denied the family’s claim, calling it “an unfortunate accident,” he said, but through persistent negotiations with a new adjuster, the family was able to reach a settlement. The insurance company never accepted responsibility, he said.
Brake, a certified nursing assistant, was instrumental in her daughter’s recovery, McCabe said. The girl’s last appointment was in October 2024, he said.
‘In terms of how [the student] is doing now, she’s obviously missing part of her finger. No doubt about that,” McCabe said. “But the good news is … she’s regained as much use as you’re going to regain. It’s not interfering with any of her activities or ability to do things.”
Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour approved the negotiated settlement Monday after a short hearing. It will be paid in four, tax-free installments, beginning with three payments of $20,000 each when the girl turns 18, 21 and 25.
The final, $98,935.72 payment is due when she turns 30 years old. The money is being held in an annuity and could also generate interest at a rate of roughly 5.2%, for a possible, additional payment of $81,412.50, the attorney said.
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A portion of the money will pay the girl’s final, $16,000 medical bill, he said.