An 8-year-old Brooklyn girl was scalded after taking a sip from a “hazardous” water fountain at her Inwood school, her family alleged in a lawsuit.
The third-grader, identified in court papers only as L.E., suffered burns on her lips, mouth, and face from the fountain, which was intentionally connected to hot water pipes to accommodate staff who make warm beverages, her family alleged.
But staffers at Dos Amigos, a city charter school at 108 Cooper St. in Bushwick, didn’t send her home or alert her parents, her father contended in court papers.
And instead of taking responsibility for the Jan. 10, 2024 incident, “Dos Amigos removed the fountain the very next day, in an apparent effort to hide the evidence and/or prevent L.E.’s parents from investigating the matter and/or taking any pictures of the fountain,” the family said in the legal filing.
The hazardous fountain “lacked a safety valve,” said family lawyer Marc Held.
The fountain was removed “while her parents were meeting with the school administration so as to prevent the parents from inspecting the fountain themselves,” Held added.
Dos Amigos serves kindergarteners through fourth graders as part of the School in the Square, a group of public city charter schools.
The family is seeking unspecified damages from the city, the Department of Education, and School in the Square.
The Department of Education referred questions to the School in the Square, which did not respond to a message seeking comment.
