$4.2 million settlement for student paralyzed by bully

MSM ^ | 4/19/2012 | Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com

[Morgana]

When Sawyer Rosenstein was 12, a punch from a bully changed his life forever, leaving him paralyzed, and at times, near death from the complications of his condition.

Now, six years after the assault, the New Jersey school board in the district where he was a student has agreed to a $4.2 million settlement.

“It feels really great to finally have just a sense of closure … that this really difficult part of my life is behind me,” Rosenstein, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in communication at Syracuse University, told msnbc.com. “I can actually focus on all of the successful things that I am doing now and all of the successful plans that I have for my future.” The Rosenstein’s lawyer, Jeffrey Youngman, said the settlement was “absolutely unique.”

“I see stories virtually, if not daily, every other day on bullying and … it’s one of the first stories where there actually was a result that’s positive and truly helps the family,” he told msnbc.com, noting that the Ramsey Board of Education does not admit liability.

[Shadowstrike]

It's not really justice, until the bully is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

[SkyDancer]

Lawyers probably got half if not more.

[tbw2]

The reason bullying is worse today is because kids are punished for defending themselves as severely as the bully - so the bullying starts just as bad and gets worse, because it isn’t curbed by others defending themselves.