HARTFORD, Conn. — The family of the Hartford student at the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy who died from a Fentanyl overdose last January is suing Hartford and the Hartford Board of Education.
The lawsuit claims carelessness by Hartford Public Schools not having Narcan available on school campuses and not having trained staff about the signs of an overdose.
According to the lawsuit Ethan was in gym class at SMSA when he became unwell. He was told he could sit and rejoin the class if he felt better or go to the nurse if he felt worse.
The lawsuit claims he went and sat on a gym mat and by the end of the class, when the teacher went to check on him Hernandez-Reyes was found lying on the gym mat and was unresponsive.
“The Hartford school district was negligent in Ethan’s death,” said Joaquin Madry of Silver Golub & Teitell, who represents Ethan’s father, Ivan Hernandez. “They had no Narcan policy, no Narcan training and no Narcan on the premises,” Madry said.
At the end of the class, the teacher called the school nurse, who tried to resuscitate him until paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center later that day.
“The teacher failed to send Ethan to the school nurse, she failed to check on him during the class, and she failed to get prompt emergency medical assistance,” said Paul Iannaccone of RisCassi & Davis, who represents Ethan’s mother, Malany Reyes.
Hernandez and Reyes are co-administrators of the estate of their son.
Two other students were exposed to fentanyl but were not hospitalized. Later investigators found 40 small bags of fentanyl on the campus of SMSA and caused the school to be shut down for days to be deep cleaned and cleared before allowing students back on campus.
Hartford Public Schools released a statement on the lawsuit.
“Hartford Public Schools remains committed to creating safe, nurturing educational environments. The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is our top priority. Due to the pending litigation, we will not issue further comment.”
After the incident at SMSA City leaders began stocking Narcan or Naloxone on campus and started providing training to staff and educating students on the dangers of fentanyl.
Dr. Craig Allen, Medical Director of Rushford and Vice President of Addiction Services of Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network talked about the importance of having Narcan Available.
“This can be administered in someone's nose. They don't have to be breathing, the membranes will absorb it. And this can save someone's life safer than aspirin safer than Tylenol. You can actually buy it over the counter. You can get it at harm reduction organizations across Connecticut who will provide you with some training. You can also get training in pharmacies where you can purchase this, but this is a lifesaving medication,” said Dr. Allen
It's also important to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose.
“Someone is going to have slowed breathing they might have blueness around their lips. They will have pinpoint very small pupils. They might be falling asleep or unconscious with really slow breathing very difficult to wake up and that can progress to someone not breathing at all,” said Dr. Allen.
If you administer Narcan or Naloxone to someone suspected of experiencing an overdose it’s important to call 911 because additional medical treatment may be needed.
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