Claiming that the state failed to protect Sandy Hook Elementary School from "foreseeable harm," a New Haven-based attorney is seeking permission to file a $100 million lawsuit on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor of the Dec. 14 shooting.
The action comes two weeks after 20 children and six educators were gunned down at the school by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, a Newtown resident who police said ultimately turned the gun on himself. Lanza reportedly shot and killed his mother, Nancy, before driving to the nearby school.
The attorney, Irving Pinsky, filed the request Thursday with Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr., according to an article by the Hartford Courant.
Because Connecticut has sovereign immunity, the Claims Commissioner must grant permission before the lawsuit could be filed, Pinsky told Patch in a telephone interview Saturday morning.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen here,” he said. "They [claims to the commissioner] generally take a long time."
“There’s plenty of history of them granting permission, but I’m not going to guess out loud what they’re going to do,” he added.
Pinsky is representing a 6-year-old girl identified in the claim as "Jill Doe." The claim says "the state Board of Education, the state Department of Education and the education commissioner failed to take steps to protect the minor children from foreseeable harm," The Courant reports.
It further states that the girl suffered emotional and psychological distress as a result of the things she heard and saw that day.
There are more than 600 students enrolled at Sandy Hook School, which is still closed off as a crime scene while state police continue their investigation. Sandy Hook students will be attending Chalk Hill School in neighboring Monroe for the foreseeable future.
“I’m pretty sure there’s many people who have attorneys lined up,” Pinsky said.
He is still building evidence for the claim, he said, through interviews with witnesses and looking into any potential prior acts of Adam Lanza. “That’s a big part of figuring what to do with any case,” he noted.
Pinsky, who was born and raised in Connecticut, said he hopes the state and country will take the Newtown tragedy as an opportunity to effect positive change and put in place new measures to protect against future school shootings.
"Society should be on edge," Pinsky said. "Something terrible happened."
He says there seems to be concensus that something needs to be done, but the "ways we do that is what people are arguing about” — whether it's more proactive relations with youngster, gun control, improved mental health treatment or a myriad of other related issues.
"We’ll never have a perfect society in my lifetime," Pinsky said, "but I want to make it better.”
Already, in the days following the shooting, President Barack Obama spoke of the need to do more to protect the country's children during a visit to Newtown. He also appointed Vice President Joe Biden to oversee the policy response to the tragedy.
Recognizing the need for a multi-prong approach and looking to ride the building momentum to effect change, the group Newtown United was formed in the wake of the tragedy. A cross-section of the community, the group has the support of elected officials and is at work refining its mission.
Could you use the word arenet in a sentence? I'll give it a whirl: " If you arenet going to spell every word correctly, arenet you somewhat wrong?" How did I do Jim?
Save from fiscal disaster. Good one. The best thing about this bill is that its " your" bill. Already moodys talking downgrade (just as i predicted) Now that everyone paying their fair share, wonder who obama will blame next. He has had bush and the rich for 4 years Now who? Lets see taxed wealthy people 65 bio. Payroll tax holiday ends...thats 150 bio towards the 1.1 yrillion dollar deficit. Borrowed 6 trillion and already needs more. Hmmmyeah
Right knock my spelling because you cant knock down what i printed as being Rubbish. Liberals so understanding and by the way i did not think i was taking an English test.Typical liberal swaying off the subject. So once again read the Ct constitution and then show it to all your liberal buddy's. Hope i spelled everything correctly. As i would not want to piss off a liberal. By the way maybe you liberals should learn how to use a calculator. But then you liberals would actually have to get a job. Lets see. Obama phones FREE Food stamps the highest in history Unemployment benefits increased again Cable Free Health insurance free paid by the working class to support the MAGGOTS. Hope i spelled MAGGOT correctly because that is what they are . Are you the anointed on the receiving side? Bet you are.
CARCASS A liberal giving a maggot something for free on the backs of other tax payers Freebie Another bleeding heart liberal give away program. OBAMA CARE
Sorry, but that argument just doesnt cut it. If you care about spelling (which I do not), then care. Dont tell me you care; suggest spell check, and then get it wrong. My observation is you are very keen on telling people what THEY should do. How about simply keeping track of yourself for once. People who desperately endeavor to find differences to excuse their similar behavior are quite simply hypocrites. An oft-used term, but it totally applies to you, with ample regularity.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said today that it was "disgusting" that the House adjourned without voting on a $60 billion relief package for the victims of superstorm Sandy and put the blame squarely on a fellow Republican -- House Speaker John Boehner. Christie, who is considered a possible Republican presidential candidate four years from now, said there was "only one group to blame, the Republican Party and Speaker Boehner." The blunt talking New Jersey governor joined a chorus of Republicans from New York and New Jersey fuming over his decision to pull the bill at the last minute. Christie in an angry news conference decried the "selfishness and duplicity," the "palace intrigue," "the callous indifference to the people of our state."
the problem with politicians is that they love to spend money.....so the 60 bio dollars that is a hidden stimulus package, is just hankering to be spent... Consider this In addition to money for affected areas in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the bill contained $150 million for fisheries in Alaska and $2 million for roof repairs on museums in Washington, D.C. This is why we actually need Republicans to guard all the money. If Sandy needs 20 bio then OBama will ask for 120 bio and talk about how hard working fellow americans are in need. Look--you can fault Repulbicans for their stance on gay marriage--be my guest. But if Alaska needs money for fisheries, why put it in a Sandy relief bill and pretend that it doesnt exist? I know you love to fault anything and everything--that involves an R--but maybe one time--just once you can say that there is lots of pork and we are broke and someone needs to actually care about where our tax dollars get spent.
the problem with this --is that its a designed argument that leaves out an enormous part of the equation. Where did these guns come from? THe answer, is they come from states with very lenient gun laws. You gun advocates shroud the argument in elements of liberties and fatalism. "oh there are lots of guns, so we cant do anything about it." Yes--its a difficult issue. There are in fact hundreds of millions of guns in this country. But the arguments that are brouught up like the one above is simply cherry picking. Instead of focusing on Chicago, look at the country as a whole. Ill restate a fact, because it is a strong argument-- in 2009 there were over 9000 murders in the USA by gun. IN 2009 there were 39 murders in the UK by gun. (thats roughly 250 if you understand that the uk has 1/7th the population). The UK has uniformly strong gun limits--not lax in colorado and strong in conn. If the case is closed as you say-- it is with this argument. Looking at one city or one town or state is convenient. but the true comparison should be done with our nation vs other, less gun zealous nations. Now-the case is closed...and we need to find ways to limit guns.
It's early in the year, but you have the lead for the Most Ridicules Post of The Year, congrats! ps: seems that the GOP had their own fraud issues. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/gop-voter-fraud_n_1990104.html
Simple human nature...if it doesny affect you..its ok The irony is that tje libersls claim they are empathetic. Reality is they are as self centered as the people they accuse. That...is fraud. Get it?
Then again, "it doesn't matter who votes, what matters is who counts the votes".
Here is a hint: if you want someone to believe you don't care, then don't respond. You only respond to the things you do care about---but are too dishonest to acknowledge that. It's after quittin' time at your mediocre 9-5 job, so you wont respond to this until tomorrow.....when you go back to 'working hard.' hahah-- till then , loser. hahaha
nar·cis·sist [nahr-suh-sist] noun 1. a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish. 2. Psychoanalysis . a person who suffers from narcissism, deriving erotic gratification from admiration of his or her own physical or mental attributes.
idiot- person, who even when given a definition doest understand Stalker- person from newtown who follows people for no purpose other than to try to connect. Jyst fyi...i can observe a mediocre job wirhout being self living. Just like you can dislike conservatives wirhout being narcissistic. See, idiot?
No idea what you mean Prof...i work as a landscaper. All cash. Dont pay taxes. And im cillecting welfare and living in affirdable housing. So time to start liking me! What do you do prof? Whars your jib? Or you going to avoid responsibility and not answer, per usual?