Lawsuit accuses Clovis schools of negligence

Sept. 13--Parents of a student allegedly burned by chemicals on a toilet seat at his Clovis school say at least one other person was burned and they were denied copies of the school's investigation report.

The allegations are part of a lawsuit filed this summer in 9th Judicial District Court by Matthew and Nellie Aragon, accusing Clovis Municipal Schools of negligence.

Their son Azuriah "Tripp" Aragon, 5 at the time, suffered second-degree burns in January 2013 from chemicals left on a toilet seat by maintenance crews at Lincoln-Jackson Family Center, according to the lawsuit.

Azuriah immediately felt a sharp pain after using the restroom and complained to his teacher but was never referred to the school nurse and he spent the day in agony, the lawsuit alleges.

The parents say Azuriah was treated at Plains Regional Medical Center after his grandmother noticed him limping when he got off the bus.

Nellie Aragon checked Azuriah's right leg and "was horrified to discover that her son had a strip of raw flesh and a burn like injury with blisters on the back of his thigh," the lawsuit states.

A spokesperson for Superintendent Jody Balch said administration wouldn't comment on pending litigation. Telephone calls Friday to the school's attorneys at the New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority were not returned.

Efforts to reach former Superintendent Terry Myers for comment were not successful. Myers denied responsibility for the boy's injuries at the time of the incident. He said Azuriah had complained of pain but declined to see the school nurse.

"We have not discovered anything that would lead us to believe that there's any wrongdoing on the part of the district," Myers said last year.

Only one complaint was received, while multiple students used the same toilet on the same day as the Aragon boy, he said.

The parents contend a teacher at the same school reported being injured by chemical cleaners left on toilet seats "and had reported this to school administrators." They say when they asked school administrators for a copy of an investigation ordered by Myers, "they were told they didn't have a right to a copy of the report."

The lawsuit alleges Azuriah missed two weeks of school and the parents felt compelled to transfer him to a different school because of "their concerns that their child would not be properly cared for."

"He is still scared and nervous when having to sit down on a toilet seat," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit seeks "losses and damages ... as the Court deems just and proper."

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