Lawsuit claims middle school student’s fingertip severed, teacher threw it away

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WTOC/Gray News) - The mother of a South Carolina middle school student who allegedly had her fingertip severed while at school has filed a lawsuit against the school district.

The lawsuit involves Shameika Freeman’s daughter, who was a student at Lady’s Island Middle School in the Beaufort County School District.

It alleges Freeman’s daughter was returning to her classroom on January 25, 2024, after using the bathroom when another student “closed the heavy door shut,” crushing her left hand. The accident affected the student’s ring finger on her left hand, resulting in fractures and partial amputation of the fingertip.

The lawsuit goes on to say school district employees threw the student’s severed fingertip in the trash. Because it was not preserved, the fingertip couldn’t be reattached during surgery.

The lawsuit alleges the school district was “negligent, careless, willful, wanton, reckless, and/or grossly negligent” in regard to the situation by failing to maintain a safe environment and properly monitor students.

Freeman is asking for a jury trial and is seeking to recover up to $300,000 dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.