Minnesota Girl in Vegetative State Because School Nurse Failed to Properly Treat Her Asthma: Lawsuit

A Minnesota eighth grader was left with a serious brain injury because a school nurse sent her back to gym class after suffering an asthma attack, her parents claim in a federal lawsuit filed this week. 

Aaliyah Bowen's family is seeking more than $10 million from the Lakeville school district and a nurse at McGuire Middle School.

The suit alleges Bowen had a long history of asthma attacks, which worsened with physical exercise. The nurse, according to the complaint, treated the 14-year-old with an albuterol inhaler in April, then sent her back to gym class without fully evaluating her.

In the physical education class, the teen's airway closed and she lost consciousness, the suit says, depriving her brain of oxygen for 30 minutes.

The girl suffered catastrophic and permanent brain damage, her parents say, and she remains in "a persistent vegetative state."

In a statement, the school district denied responsibility for the girl's condition.

"Lakeville Area Schools are deeply saddened by the medical incident regarding one of students last April. We express our deepest sympathy for the student and family. The district takes student health seriously and abides by medical protocols and emergency response procedures. It is our position that the Lakeville Area Schools are not responsible for the injuries outlined in the complaint.”

A GoFundMe page has been established to help with the teen's medical costs, all of which are not covered by her parents' insurance. "She has remained in the hospital to this date," reads a post on the site. "She suffered the worst possible brain damage that one can."

RELATED STORIES