6-Year-Old Newtown Survivor Seeks $100M

First legal action comes on behalf of girl who was in school at the time
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Suggested by Ghille
Posted Dec 29, 2012 9:29 AM CST
6-Year-Old Newtown Survivor Seeks $100M
A school bus rolls towards a memorial for victims of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The family of a 6-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary aims to sue the state for $100 million, reports the Hartford Courant. The girl, identified only as Jill Doe, has been traumatized, says her lawyer. "She was in her classroom, and over the loudspeaker came the horrific confrontation between the fellow who shot everybody and other people," says attorney Irving Pinsky. "Her friends were killed. That's pretty traumatic."

It is the first legal action to stem from the shooting, notes Reuters. Because the state has "sovereign immunity" from most lawsuits, Pinsky must get permission to sue from the state claims commissioner, and he filed the papers on Thursday. The state's education department failed to protect kids from "foreseeable harm," according to the claim. "Usually a fellow like Adam Lanza would have been known as a potential problem to the police," says Pinsky. (More Newtown, Connecticut stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X