Last November, a 13-year-old boy tragically lost his life after suffering an asthma attack during his first day of basketball practice at Thornton Middle School. Now, a prominent Houston attorney is getting involved.
In a mediation demand letter sent to Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Superintendent Dr. Douglas Killian, attorney Tony Buzbee called eighth grader Xavier Thompson’s death a “preventable tragedy.”
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In a conversation with Xavier’s mother, Brittany Thompson, in the days following the tragedy, KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry discovered that Xavier’s parents were first alerted to the asthma attack by a frantic phone call from his classmates—not the school’s staff.
OUR FIRST REPORT: ‘Full of life’: Student dies after first day of basketball practice at Cy-Fair ISD middle school
“It’s way longer than it should have been,” George Powell, the family’s former attorney said in November. “If the facts bear out to be what we think they are, we think that this amounts to gross negligence and we intend to pursue it.”
Buzbee’s demand letter corroborated this account, adding that the panicked parents had to ask Xavier’s friends to give the coach their phone to speak with them.
Xavier’s dad, Willis Thompson, was also able to get to the school at around the same time as medical personnel, leaving the family to question how urgent the school’s response actually was.
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Buzbee said he believes the school’s reaction to Xavier’s medical episode showed a lack of emergency preparedness and ultimately contributed to the situation’s devastating outcome.
In the pre-suit demand, Buzbee said Xavier’s parents are seeking compensation to account for their son’s passing. They also are demanding to see changes in emergency training policies and procedures to prevent future tragedies of this nature.
The letter is requesting a response from the district by Feb. 7.
