A former Los Angeles Unified employee who says she was tackled and injured by one of two students involved in a shouting match is suing her former employer, alleging she was unjustifiably fired in 2023 while still on medical leave due to the physical and emotional fallout from the earlier occurrence.
Claudia Carolina Palacios' Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include whistleblower retaliation, harassment, discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and failure to accommodate. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
An LAUSD representative could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit brought Thursday.
Palacios, now 43, was hired in 2002 as a special education assistant. In September 2022, Palacios was trying to intervene in a verbal confrontation between two students when she was tackled by one of the them and suffered neck and back sprains and a contusion to her right leg, the suit states.
During the verbal confrontation, the screaming became so loud that it was heard by the principal and assistant principal, who assisted Palacios, the suit states.
Palacios was off work for a month and no school administrators met with her to talk about potential accommodations for her upon her return, according to the suit, which further states that she suffered a panic attack related to the tackling that was so severe that she vomited, the suit states.
A month later, Palacios' doctor gave her a note excusing her from work for several months and she also was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and adjustment disorder, also stemming from her being hurt on the job, the suit states.
Palacios, while still on medical leave, was fired in June 2023, the suit states. When she asked a supervisor why she was being terminated, the boss said she did not know the reason, according to the suit.
Palacios has suffered a substantial loss of earnings and endured severe emotional distress since losing her job, the suit states.
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