ROCKLAND, Maine — A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed against the Rockland-area school district by the mother of a student who said her son was treated at a hospital over his objections following a skiing accident.
Bethany Berry of Rockland filed the lawsuit in April in U.S. District Court in Portland against Regional School Unit 13 on behalf of a minor son. She argued that after her son was injured during a high school ski club outing to Sugarloaf in January 2014, he asked not to be taken by ambulance to a hospital but was taken anyway over his objections.
The student suffered a concussion, chipped and dislocated teeth, and injuries to his chest, head, back and tongue.
School district attorney Melissa Hewey of Portland denied an allegation that excessive force was used by the ski club coordinator in having Berry’s son taken by ambulance to the hospital against his wishes. The district said the student was not restrained and the teacher simply insisted the student be taken to the hospital because of his injuries.
Hewey also argued in court filings that Berry had wrongly tried to turn a skiing accident into a civil rights action.
U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock Jr. agreed with the school district that the claims made by Berry did not involve federal constitutional issues and dismissed the case.