The family of a South Carolina child who was permanently injured following a suicide attempt triggered by ongoing bullying has filed a negligence lawsuit against the girl’s school district.
Kelaia Turner initially complained that she was being bullied by other students at Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School in Greenville County in August 2021, according to the lawsuit filed on November 12.
At the moment, she was eleven years old. In addition to continuing for a year and a half, several of the school’s teachers were allegedly complicit in the bullying.
Kelaia Turner attempted suicide in March 2023 as a result of “negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, and wanton acts” committed by the school and nine middle school teaching and administration members, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, students called Turner “a man and roach in [teacher] Olivia Bennett’s class” in December 2021. Bennett allegedly “said nothing to the other students to stop it” and was “complicit” in the bullying.
According to reports, one youngster questioned, “Where’s the roach?” Turner was supposedly pointed out by Bennett.
Ty Turner, Kelaia’s mother, posted on Facebook in October 2024 a list of further racist epithets and insults that her daughter had been called by classmates, such as “Mustache Face,” “Ugmo,” and “FatBlackUgly.”
The lawsuit also detailed an incident from May 2022 in which Turner was being taunted by several of her classmates by playing a racist YouTube video in class. “The song was played without any comment on its offensiveness, nor any reprimand to or discussion with the student who played it,” according to John Teer, the class’s teacher.
Additionally, there were reports of violent altercations involving Kelaia and other pupils, in which Kelaia received discipline but the other kids were left unpunished. A student was continually “pushing” Kelaia in an event that occurred in October 2022, but the faculty did nothing more than request that the next occurrence be reported to them.
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“The bullying persisted, resulting in [Kelaia]’s clothes being hung, soaked with water, and then thrown into the trash,” the lawsuit said.
On March 17, 2023, 12-year-old Kelaia Turner “attempted suicide by hanging as a direct result of the bullying of five Fischer Middle students,” marking the culmination of the ongoing bullying.
Kelaia Turner was brought back to life and then admitted to the hospital for 101 days, spending many of those weeks unconscious. After all, she had “significant brain damage.”
Ty Turner told WFYY about her daughter’s current condition, stating, “Kelaia does not currently have control over her body.” She is completely dependent, nonverbal, and on a feeding tube and trach.
For the most part, her father and I provide the round-the-clock care she needs. A nurse is now available to us three days a week.
Even worse, some students were allowed to visit Kelaia while she was unconscious and snapped pictures of her with the intention of making fun of her on social media in the days after her hospital admission and 31 days of treatment in the intensive care unit.
According to the lawsuit, “[another student] also helped spread rumors about [Kelaia]’s injuries after the pictures were circulated.”
The school has “a zero-tolerance policy for bullying but no way to enforce it,” the principals retorted. Weeks later, Ty Turner learned about the pictures.
The school and the nine identified defendants are being sued by Kelaia’s family for actual and punitive damages, which will be decided by a jury.
