Legal

Parents of St. Croix Student Injured by Falling Ceiling Fan Sue Contractor, VIDE, and Government for Negligence

The parents of a St. Croix Educational Complex student seriously injured by a falling ceiling fan have filed suit against the contractor and the government. In a civil complaint filed last week, Moses Theodore and Denise Joseph say that the V.I. Department of Education and K&J Services Ltd were negligent in the installation of the industrial ceiling fan. William Trinidad, owner of K&J services, is also named as a defendant, as are the Government of the V.I. and Governor Albert Bryan Jr.  Early last September, a male student sustained a laceration to his side when a ceiling fan fell during a morning class period. The boy's injuries necessitated stitches at the Juan F. Luis hospital emergency room, and prompted a student protest the following day. Complex students decried school officials' reported attempts to downplay the incident, and sought to draw attention to what they say were unsafe conditions in classrooms.  A meeting between the Department of Education and the school's parent...