America's Top Bullying Awards, Verdicts and Settlements

If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .

 These are some of the top bullying-related verdicts and settlements from across the country, according to data from Public Justice in Washington, D.C. The organization's anti-bullying campaign, launched by senior attorney Adele Kimmel, tracks pending bullying litigation across the country.

T.F. v. Anchorage School District-Alaska

$4.5 million settlement

The family of a 14-year-old 8th-grader named Tom sued the school district after he tried hanging himself at home. The boy survived but suffered irreversible brain damage. The gifted math and science student was bullied in school, including incidents where he was pushed, assaulted in the bathroom, had his books knocked out of his hands and his clarinet thrown in the trash.

Rosenstein v. Board of Education of the Borough of Ramsey-New Jersey

$4.2 million settlement

Twelve-year-old Sawyer Rosenstein was punched in the abdomen so hard by a known bully in his middle school that a blood clot formed in one of his major arteries and burst when it reached his spine. He endured 19 surgeries and survived but is paralyzed from the waist down.

Doe v. Roe School District-California

$1.35 million settlement

A 14-year-old student was subjected to repeated anti-Semitic and anti-gay taunts. While the school launched an investigation, the student attempted suicide in the school bathroom. Part of the parents' lawsuit alleged that the school failed to suspend the bullies under its zero tolerance bullying policy.

Zeno v. Pine Plains Central School District-New York

$1.25 million jury verdict, later reduced to $1 million by the trial judge

Anthony Zeno, who was half-white and half-Hispanic, endured ongoing bullying regarding his race. The school district disciplined the bullies but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit later ruled that it did not do enough to curb the assaults and threats to his life. In one incident, bullies showed him a noose and threatened to hang him.

Shimizu v. Folsom Cordova Unified School District-California

$1 million presuit settlement

Ronin Shimizu, 12, committed suicide after alleged persistent bullying. He was called "gay," "girly" and a "fag." The harassment and assaults lasted over a five-year period, his family claims. It reached a point where his parents took him out of the school and home-schooled him.

Nabozny v. Podlesny-Wisconsin

$962,000 settlement

Jamie Nabozny was bullied over a four-year period in school, including anti-gay verbal and physical abuse. The boy claimed he was urinated on, a student pretended to rape him in a classroom and was kicked so many times in the stomach he required surgery. He attempted suicide on more than one occasion and at one point ran away from home.

Patterson v. Hudson Area School-Michigan

$800,000 jury verdict

Dane Patterson was bullied in middle school and high school. The lawsuit claimed he was called names such as "queer." His locker was defaced with the drawing of a penis inserted into a rectum, a student urinated on his clothes and another student rubbed his genitals in the boy's face while another student blocked his exit from the locker room.

Walsh v. Tehachapi Unified School District-California

$750,000 settlement

Seth Walsh, a gay 13-year-old middle school student, was physically and verbally harassed due to his sexual orientation. It was allegedly a common expression at the school to say "That's gay, but not as gay as Seth." The boy ultimately committed suicide. In addition to the financial settlement, the school implemented new policies to combat harassment and bullying.

Heidenberg v. Hillel School of Tampa-Florida

A $4 million jury verdict later reduced by the trial judge to $600,000. The parties eventually settled for an undisclosed sum that exceeded $600,000.

Danny Heidenberg, 12, attended a Jewish community day school in Tampa. A bully broke his arm, leaving him with permanent nerve damage. The boy's parents alleged that the school knew the perpetrator was a bully but did nothing to stop him.

Shively v. Green Local School District Board of Education-Ohio

$500,000 settlement

A parent of a student who was the subject of gender-based and anti-Semitic harassment by her peers over a period of several years sued the school district. The harassment extended to social media, the lawsuit claimed, as the girl was listed as a target on a "kill list." She was also physically abused on two occasions that required medical treatment.

If you have a child that suffers from bulling, and have questions about education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Christian Nolan, 10 Top Bullying Settlements and Verdicts, 42 CONN LAW TRIB 28 (Jul. 11, 2016) at 6