Disabled Colorado boy, 12, broke both of his legs after losing control of his wheelchair on a ramp and slamming into wall at school, as staff failed to render aid or inform his mother, lawsuit claims

A Colorado woman has filed a lawsuit against her 12-year-old son's school district after the little boy broke both his legs after speeding down a wheelchair ramp while unattended. 

Patricia Portillo Estrada filed a civil action suit against Adams 12 Five Star Schools, where her son was enrolled at Rocky Mountain Elementary. She and her son, who immigrated to the United States together, primarily speak Spanish and require district employees to serve as interpreters.

According to documents reviewed by DailyMail.com, Portillo Estrada’s son has multiple disabilities and birth defects including intellectual, orthopedic and speech impairments. The disabilities have left him wheelchair-bound.

The lawsuit alleges that the district failed to accommodate the little boy from at least October 2020, when he started school, to the present 'by failing to supervise or assist his functional mobility.'

This neglect 'reached severe heights on May 10, 2022,' the suit claims. On that day, the boy fractured the tibia and fibula of both legs after losing control of his wheelchair while going down a ramp on campus.

Patricia Portillo Estrada filed a civil action lawsuit against Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado after her wheelchair-bound son was injured on a ramp

The suit alleges the boy was unattended as he attempted to traverse a ramp between classrooms at Rocky Mountain Elementary School and lost control, slamming into a wall

The boy's knees 'absorbed the impact,' according to the lawsuit. He was hospitalized for one week and bedridden for a month, causing him to develop sores

According to the elementary school itself, staff failed to report the boy's injury.

After the accident, at least one school employee found the boy at the bottom of the ramp, but allegedly did not provide assistance. Instead, the little boy was left to gather himself and return to class.

The boy was injured at 8:15 am, just 10 minutes after the school day began.  'Accordingly, the Plaintiff spent seven hours in severe pain before the seeing his Mother,' the suit reads.

An internal report from the school notes that multiple staff members observed the boy 'on the verge of tears' throughout the day.

However, Portillo Estrada was kept in the dark on her son's condition and only became aware once she picked him up from the bus stop that afternoon.

'Without knowledge of the accident, and with no information from the School, Ms. Portillo Estrada had no way of knowing the severity of the Plaintiff’s injury,' the suit asserts.

She texted the school to ask about the incident, accompanied by a photo of her son wincing in pain, but did not receive a response.

When the school finally answered, the message 'insinuated that the Plaintiff’s pain was due to shoulder discomfort,' although the boy did not begin to experience significant shoulder or back pain until after the injury.

Text message exhibits show Portillo Estrada asking the school about her son's injuries, only to receive no response. She kept the little boy home the next day as he continued to experience severe pain

When he was sent back to school on May 12, the school demanded Portillo Estrada pick him up and take him to the hospital, or else they would call an ambulance

The school advised Portillo Estrada to take her son to the doctor.

Portillo Estrada explained to the school that her son was suffering from pain and swelling in his knees, but the school claimed the boy did not suffer any injuries on the campus, the lawsuit claims.

The school allegedly suggested that the boy must have gotten hurt by falling out of bed.

'Regardless of the cause of the Plaintiff’s pain, RME took no action to address, treat, or mitigate the Plaintiff’s condition throughout the day of May 10. Instead, he was left confined to his wheelchair, with fractured legs,' the suit reads. 

She kept the 12-year-old home from school the following day as he continued to experience significant pain. 

On May 12, Portillo Estrada sent him back to school. A few hours later, Rocky Mountain Elementary demanded she pick her son up or else it would call an ambulance, the suit says.

Portillo Estrada took her son to an emergency room in Broomfield. He was transferred to the Children’s Hospital at the Anschutz medical Campus in Aurora, where he was diagnosed with bilateral fractures.

His injuries were so severe that Portillo Estrada was interviewed by a clinical social worker, the suit says.

The little boy was hospitalized for one week and required to maintain total immobilization in his legs for another four weeks following his diagnosis.

According to the lawsuit, being confined to his bed for more than a month led the boy to develop bed sores, only furthering his anguish.

In June, Portillo Estrada met with Principal Kate Vogel. Vogel reviewed security footage and launched an investigation, but the suit asserts this should have happened sooner

In June, Portillo Estrada and an interpreter spoke with Principal Kate Vogel. The suit alleges that the school denied any wrongdoing until this meeting, when the principal reviewed security footage from the morning of the incident.

The footage showed the boy unattended and unsupervised, documents state. He attempted to get through the ramps between classrooms and lost control.

Footage showed the boy’s wheelchair rolling down the ramp and smashing into a concrete wall. According to the lawsuit, his knees 'absorbed the impact.'

The elementary school then wrote up a summary of the video and gave it to Portillo Estrada. Shortly thereafter, Vogel opened an investigation.

The suit asserts that the school's failure to supervise the boy and look into the circumstances surrounding his injuries at the time they occurred 'manifest deliberate indifference to the Plaintiff’s health, wellbeing, and federally protected rights.'

It further alleges that the boy’s individualized education program had been amended several times since 2020. The program states that he needs supervision and assistance when navigating ramps and uneven terrain while in his wheelchair.

'The School’s conduct on, before, and after May 10, 2022 is emblematic of a pattern or practice of neglect and failure to accommodate the Plaintiff’s needs as a disabled individual,' documents state.

'This pattern or practice is sufficiently severe and pervasive to constitute intentional discrimination against the Plaintiff as a disabled person.'

The school stands accused of violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

Portillo Estrada seeks an unspecified amount in damages including compensatory damages and attorneys' fees.