Smith Elementary School student receives staples after TV falls on his head
Mother: School monitor fell on child's head
A mother is demanding answers after she says a classroom smart board fell on her son's head, sending him to the Emergency Room. This happened at Smith Elementary in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. FOX 26's Jade Flury spoke to the mother and has the district's response.
HOUSTON - A four-year-old Smith Elementary School student is healing after a 72-inch monitor fell on his head during the school day. It happened on Oct. 2 in Richmond. Now, the mother of the student is demanding answers from the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District on what exactly happened that day.
Brenda Salinas' son, who is autistic and non-verbal, was in class when a large monitor fell off the mount and injured her son.
"My child was sitting in the corner of the classroom, dripping blood, clogs coming out of his head, screaming," said Salinas.
She said the impact left a one-and-a-half-inch gash on the back of her son's head that required staples to close the injury.
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"I was terrified. I saw my son covered in blood. That’s what terrified me," said Salinas. "It was tough taking him to the hospital putting staples on."
The mother said school staff didn't react quickly enough by calling an ambulance right away.
"Until I got here, that’s when they wanted to call the ambulance," said Salinas.
The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District said in a statement:
"We deeply regret the incident involving one of our students at Smith Elementary School in October. We learned that a student caused a mounted Promethean Board to come off the wall after pushing on it. Unfortunately, the device fell on the student, resulting in injuries. The teacher immediately contacted the front office, who sent the nurse and principal. Once they both arrived, they called 911 and the student's mother. Emergency services arrived at the campus, and paramedics were already attempting to administer aid to the student when the mother arrived. The campus staff followed established safety protocols and respond swiftly to ensure the student received immediate care. We are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all students and continually assess and enhance safety measures across our campus. The privacy and confidentiality of our students and families remain a top priority, and we respectfully request understanding and sensitivity from the media that there may be information we cannot provide regarding this incident."
However, Salinas claims administrators didn't call emergency services until after she arrived. She also said her son should always have a supervisor nearby because of his disabilities.
"They had a meeting where he’s supposed to have an adult with him at all times," said Salinas. "I would expect them to call 911 first. I would have met them at the hospital. My son bleeding, and nothing."
The mother is asking the school district to clarify why the monitor wasn't secured properly.
"I mean I have to pay two hospital bills, two ambulance bills because he was taken to the hospital downtown, and they didn’t send an apology," said Salinas.
Lamar CISD told FOX 26 that after the incident, they immediately contacted the vendor who installed the boards to check all boards on their campuses. They said the vendor came out the same day they contacted them to inspect all the boards at Smith Elementary.