The Plaintiff: Carter v. Kern County School District

The plaintiff in the case, Bret Mitchell Carter, was student body president and a senior at Bakersfield High School who agreed to wear a chicken suit for a school pep rally before a championship game against Clovis West High School in the Valley Conference. The Clovis mascot was a gold eagle, and Carter dressed up in a chicken suit to mock the other school’s mascot at Bakersfield High School during the pre-game events. Before Carter approached the midcourt circle for a routine with the Bakersfield mascot as planned, he was attacked by several junior varsity football players who rushed from the crowd to “wrestle” with the giant chicken. The initial play fighting was quickly followed by additional students joining in from the crowd who started kicking and stomping Carter in the chicken suit. Other students eventually pulled the students attacking Carter off of him, and the attack allegedly lasted about 12 seconds. Following the incident, eleven students were suspended based on their involvement in the incident during which Carter sustained head injuries. Carter sued Kern High School District, the operator of Bakersfield High School.

The Defendant: Carter v. Kern County School District

The defendant in the case is Kern High School District, the operator of Bakersfield High School, where the plaintiff was a student at the time of the incident. According to court documents, the varsity players were told about the routine, but the junior varsity players were not. Carter argued that the school officials encouraged the stunt but failed to break up the attack quickly. The school claimed that security personnel on site delayed intervening in the incident because they were confused regarding the routine and what it entailed.

The Case: Carter v. Kern County School District

Due to the incident, Carter sustained multiple abrasions, and his face was severely swollen. He was taken to an urgent care facility after the incident for stitches and to check for a potential concussion. Three days after the incident, Carter was still struggling to recover. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury impacting his frontal lobes, containing most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation. As such, Carter claimed the injuries he sustained in the attack left him suffering migraine headaches, psychological issues, and a hormone deficiency that damaged his pituitary gland. According to the plaintiff’s legal counsel, Carter was a successful student before the incident, but he changed after the attack. The plaintiff’s counsel pointed out Carter’s near-failing college grades, his need for growth hormone therapy for the remainder of his life, his need for special education classes, and ongoing counseling. The plaintiff’s counsel requested $45 million in damages. The defense counsel argued that Carter didn’t file suit against the district until three years after the incident and that he wasn’t diagnosed with a brain injury until after he filed. They also argued that Carter was treated by doctors multiple times in the three years between the incident and the filing, but he didn’t display symptoms consistent with a head injury. On June 29, 2016, the jury returned a verdict, finding the school district 100 percent at fault for the incident while also rejecting any fault on the part of Carter or the other students. The school district agreed to tender its full $10.5 million insurance policy limits to settle the case.

If you have questions about how to file a California traumatic brain injury lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced traumatic brain injury attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.