Brett Kelman

TDS

A local teacher has claimed in a lawsuit that she was left partially blind and deaf after being punched in the head by a Summit High School student in 2012.

Melissa Labayog, who now teaches at Horizon School, sued Prudential Insurance after the insurance company rejected her disability claim, then denied her appeal. The insurance company insists the blow to the head did not cause Labayog’s blindness, according to the lawsuit, which was filed at the Riverside courthouse on March 11.

“To twice reject a claim as obvious as this suggests that one of the largest insurance companies on Earth is trying to take advantage of a woman who was made severely disabled,” said Samuel Bruchey, one of Labayog’s attorneys, in a news release.

Prudential has not responded to the lawsuit in court. A company spokesman could not be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Labayog was struck in the head by a student in the hallway during school hours on Sept. 9, 2012. The blow knocked the teacher unconscious, and she fell to the ground, striking her head on the cement floor, the lawsuit says.

The blow left Labayog with a traumatic brain injury, nerve damage, violent headaches, recurring nose bleeds and post-traumatic stress disorder, the lawsuit states. Ultimately, Labayog lost vision in her right eye and 60 percent of the hearing in her right ear, the lawsuit states.

Labayog argues in the lawsuit that her Prudential policy “for accident death or dismemberment” entitles her to $502,000 as compensation for her partial blindness. The teacher claims that 10 doctors have determined that the blow to the head caused her blindness, but that the insurer rejected her claim without questioning those doctors.

Mona Davidson, president of the Desert Sands Teachers Association, said Labayog was struck while trying to prevent a brawl between two male students. The student had exchanged blows in a hallway at Summit, but by the time Labayog stepped in, the fight had already ended, Davidson said. The teacher was attempting to move one of the students into a classroom — hoping to avoid a second fight — when the other student punched her from behind, Davidson said.

Labayog’s lawsuit does not levy any claims against the student, Summit High or the Desert Sands Unified School District. The student is not identified in the lawsuit.

Sherry Johnstone, assistant superintendent of personnel services for Desert Sands Unified, confirmed that Labayog was injured during an incident at Summit High in 2012. Summit High is a continuation school with about 350 students in La Quinta.

CorrectionSamuel Bruchey made the remarks quoted in this story. A news release from his law firm had attributed the quote to another attorney.