Former Orange County mom says school's physical therapy session left child with broken leg

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The mother of a former Orange County elementary student is going forward with a lawsuit, claiming an unapproved session with a school physical therapist left her special needs son with a broken leg.

The mom said she had given a clear directive in writing to the school to avoid a certain type of physical therapy, but said the school's physical therapist ignored it.

The woman told Channel 9 that her child, Luis, who is nonverbal and wheelchair bound from several conditions, came home from Bay Meadows Elementary school one day in October 2018 with mysterious marks on his legs.

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"I knew that he was in pain as soon as I saw him because he was really sweaty and he was breathing really fast," the woman said.

She said she immediately rushed him to the emergency room, where doctors said Luis had a broken thigh bone.

The mother said after still not getting answers to how her son suffered the injury over a year later, she filed a lawsuit accusing the school of medical malpractice and negligence. She said just two days earlier, she requested the school refrain from providing any therapy until Luis could be reevaluated.

A physical therapy note included in the lawsuit noted a plan to strap Luis in a device used to strengthen his legs for a total of 30 minutes, but it's unclear why Luis was left in the device for 60 minutes.

The family's attorney said they want accountability that would prevent a similar incident from happening again.

The school district told Channel 9 that it couldn't comment on pending litigation, so couldn't say if the physical therapist involved faced any discipline.