Harlem Charter Student ‘Permanently’ Injured In School Brawl: Lawsuit

HARLEM, NY - The mother of a Harlem charter school student is suing the school over a violent encounter between her son and another student that left her son permanently injured, according to a lawsuit filed in New York County Supreme Court Wednesday.

Neighborhood Charter Schools of Harlem student, identified using only his initials JMR, was seriously injured by another student during an unsupervised classroom brawl in 2022, according to a complaint filed by attorneys representing JMR and his mother, Francisca Hernandez.

The lawsuit contends JMR was pushed and punched by another student while he was left unattended inside a classroom at the St. Nicholas Avenue school, resulting in JMR being “seriously and permanently injured.”

“JMR was injured solely and wholly as a result of the negligence, carelessness, and recklessness of the defendant Neighborhood Charter Schools of Harlem,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiff is seeking punitive damages, though the exact amount sought was not provided in the complaint. A request for comment from Neighborhood Charter Schools of Harlem was not immediately returned.

Neighborhood Charter Schools of Harlem opened in August 2012 and touts a “rich, challenging K-8 program that cultivates the intellectual, social and emotional development of each child" with a student population comprised of about 15% children with autism, according to its website.