[Trigger Warning]
As we reported in January, Kayleen Savonn Brown — a 17-year-old from Jacksonville with a severe nut allergy — was at a group meeting at Atlantic Coast High School in April 2023 when she was served baklava. Unfamiliar with the dessert, she asked school staff if it was nut-free and was told that it was, according to a lawsuit filed by Steven Brown, her father.
Chopped nuts are a principal ingredient of baklava.
Kayleen ate the dessert and shortly afterward “discovered that the food she had consumed contained pistachio nuts,” according to the complaint. She began to experience symptoms of a reaction.
According to the suit, employees of the Duval County Public School district “were aware that she had eaten nuts and was experiencing symptoms associated with her food allergy and permitted her to leave campus” instead of bringing her to the nurse to have her condition evaluated.
The teen drove from school to a local pharmacy to buy Benadryl, but upon her arrival, she suffered full-blown anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest. She subsequently fell into a coma and died three days later, on April 30, 2023.
The father had claimed district officials were familiar with the 17-year-old’s nut allergy and developed a Food Allergy Management and Prevention Plan for her, under which school staff were required to recognize and report signs of an allergic reaction.
The Brown’s lawsuit claimed unspecified damages in excess of $50,000 to address medical and funeral expenses, lost income, and suffering.
Ted Pina, the attorney representing the family, said that he worked to schedule the case for a quick mediation, which was scheduled for March 11. At the mediation, the parties reached a settlement. No details have been released as to the terms of the settlement.
According to Law & Crime, Tort claim limits in Duval County, Florida, cap recovery for personal injuries against the municipality at $200,000 per person or $300,000 per occurrence.
