An 8-year-old Brooklyn girl suffered burns after taking a sip from a “dangerous” water fountain at an Inwood school, her family claims in a lawsuit.
The third-grader, identified only as LE in court documents, suffered burns to his lips, mouth and face from a fountain that was intentionally connected to a hot water pipe to accommodate staff making hot drinks, family members said. insisted.
But officials at Dos Amigos, a municipal charter school at 108 Cooper St. in Bushwick, did not take her home or alert her parents, her father alleged in court documents.
And, instead of taking responsibility for the incident on January 10, 2024, “Dos Amigos was forced to do obvious things to hide evidence and prevent LE's parents from investigating the matter or taking photos.” “In an effort to protect the public, the fountain was removed the next day,” the family said in a legal filing.
Family lawyer Mark Held said the dangerous fountain had “no safety valve”.
Held added that the fountain was removed “to prevent parents from testing the fountain themselves while they meet with school administrators.”
Dos Amigos serves students in kindergarten through fourth grade as part of School in the Square, a group of public charter schools in the city.
The family is seeking unspecified damages from the city, the Ministry of Education, and the plaza school.
The Department of Education referred questions to Square in the Square, which did not respond to messages seeking comment.
