Tuesday, July 20, 1999
By DENISE ZOLDAN, Staff Writer
The parents of a Naples kindergartener who died 13 hours after leaving school have notified the Collier County School Board they plan to file a wrongful death suit against the district.
Ronald and Debra Victor, of North Naples, claim the "egregious conduct" of employees at Pelican Marsh Elementary School contributed to the May 6 death of their 6-year-old son, Ronald Paul "R.J" Victor II. He suffered from Mitochondrial Disease, a rare cellular affliction.
The cause of death was listed as aspiration pneumonia, which is an inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling foreign material.
The family plans to file two claims against the school district for $100,000 each and also might pursue a federal civil rights lawsuit, said Ted Zelman, attorney for the Victors.
Under Florida law, the School Board cannot be sued for more than $100,000 per person, per claim and a total $200,000 per incident. The family sent the letter because, in Florida, a government entity must be notified six months in advance that a plaintiff plans to sue. There is no such limit on federal lawsuits.
Zelman's July 1 letter to the board "sets the clock running," he said.
This is the second notice of a wrongful death suit to be filed against the school district in recent weeks. The family of Russell "Rusty" Larabell gave notice in June that the family is prepared to file suit in connection with the death of Larabell, 16, a Naples High football player who died from head injuries received during a junior varsity football game.
In the 5-year-old's case, his cellular disease affected his respiratory system. Because of the disease, he was placed in a special education class at Pelican Marsh Elementary with seven other pupils who also had disabilities. Four adults were in the class at the time R.J. became ill.
Zelman gave this account of what happened the day the boy died:
His nanny took him to school around 8 a.m. May 6 and told teachers that R.J. hadn't slept well the night before. She left directions for the school to call her if he appeared to be groggy or having trouble staying awake because R.J. wasn't permitted to sleep without being hooked to a medical machine.
However, the school called the nanny at around 10:30 a.m., saying R.J. was drooling and falling asleep. The medical reports say R.J. was suffering from aspiration pneumonia, which worsened rapidly because of his disease.
The nanny picked up R.J. at the school and then called his mother, Debra Victor, who was at work.
By 11:19 a.m. Debra Victor was home and dialing 911. The Collier County Emergency Medical Services ambulance arrived at the home at 11:25 a.m. and R.J. arrived at North Collier Hospital at 11:46 a.m., Zelman said.
Around 2:30 p.m., R.J. was airlifted to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where he died that night before midnight, Zelman said.
"It's a sad case," Zelman said Monday. "This family spent so much time and money finding out what was wrong with their child and taking care of him, and just when they thought things were getting better, this happens."
He said the family faults school personnel for not doing more when there was time to help R.J.
In his letter to the district, Zelman wrote: "An ambulance promptly arrived and took R.J. to the hospital. However, by then it was too late. His pneumonia had advanced and he died later that day."
Eli Mobley, risk manager for Collier County Public Schools, gave a similar account of the incident. But he said R.J. was drooling as usual, and although he appeared sleepy he did not appear to be in danger.
"We feel bad for the family," Mobley said.
He said the school is maintaining that R.J. was tired but fine when the nanny picked him up that day.
Mobley said the case has been turned over to the school district's insurance adjuster.
The Victors couldn't be reached for comment Monday.
