OKLAHOMA CITY, April 30 (UPI) —
A girl trapped under an Oklahoma City school elevator has sued the district for negligence, but a school district lawyer put the blame on her.
Ambri Tygard, a seventh-grader at the time of the Nov. 5, 2011, incident, was one of three girls who walked through a door and onto the floor of an elevator shaft at the Classen School for Advanced Studies. They became trapped and were injured when the elevator car then pressed down on them.
Ambri, who was the mostly seriously injured, is seeking at least $100,000 in damages in Oklahoma County District Court, claiming the incident left her disfigured and in need of continuing medical treatment, court records show.
She is the only one of the three girls to file a lawsuit in the matter, The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman reported Tuesday.
Shortly after the accident, district Superintendent Karl Springer said the door to the lift-style elevator should have been locked. Three days later, he said it had been due to be fixed when the girls walked into the elevator shaft.
In response to the lawsuit filed last June, the school district’s attorney, Andy Fugitt, denied nearly all the allegations made by the girl’s lawyers, writing, "Plaintiff’s own negligence was the sole cause of her injuries. Plaintiff was comparatively negligent, and her comparative negligence is sufficient percentage to reduce or bar any recovery."
Fugitt told the newspaper Monday the district’s position on the lawsuit "is based upon a good faith understanding of the facts and contains assertions of what may be proved to a court or jury depending on additional facts that may be developed in the lawsuit."
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