GILL — A former Northfield Mount Hermon School student has filed a legal complaint and is seeking a case against the school, claiming negligence and infliction of emotional distress from an alleged 2017 incident involving a current staff member.

According to a complaint filed July 7 with the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts Western Division, the plaintiff, a former female student, is seeking compensation for injuries she said she suffered as a result of alleged negligence by the defendant — NMH’s employees, agents and/or servants. No monetary figure is mentioned in the document.

Neither NMH nor the law firm representing the plaintiff responded to requests for comment.

The complaint seeks a jury trial for alleged counts of negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress and disability discrimination in violation of Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

The U.S. District Court has jurisdiction because the matter involves a federal question pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The complaint states the plaintiff was electively being treated by a licensed independent clinical social worker, a counselor who remains employed by the school, while attending NMH as a student in 2017. According to the plaintiff’s statements in the document, she had met regularly with the counselor for individual counseling at the NMH health center since April 2017.

On Oct. 2, 2017, the plaintiff attended a session during which the counselor, who is named in the document, “repeatedly questioned (the plaintiff) about any suicidal ideation.” The document states the plaintiff “made it very clear that she had no interest in harming herself.” According to the document, the counselor “pushed (the plaintiff) to go to the hospital” and she “reluctantly agreed to go” because she thought it would be for a psychiatric evaluation for medication, which she had agreed to the previous week.

According to the document, after agreeing to go, the student was approached by a police officer and brought to an ambulance where she was transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. The document states the student was “overwhelmed and embarrassed” when she arrived at the emergency room because the counselor had not explained that she was trying to admit her to an inpatient stay. The complaint states the counselor “inappropriately stayed in the examination room” and “kept insisting to (the student) that she was very depressed and suicidal.” After the counselor left, the student asked for re-evaluation.

“Ultimately, the medical doctor at (Baystate Franklin) determined that (the student) was stable and did not meet criteria for inpatient psychiatric admission,” the document reads. “The doctor further determined that (the student) was not a risk to herself or others.”

After leaving the hospital, the document states that NMH placed the student on medical leave “because of concerns that she was suicidal and posed a danger to herself, and that she defied mental health recommendations for inpatient treatment.” Shortly thereafter, the student was expelled “based upon (the counselor’s) recommendations.”

The complaint states the student “suffered severe emotional distress” and “incurred bills and other costs” as a result of the school’s alleged negligence. The plaintiff is demanding a right to jury on all counts, and is seeking to be awarded for her “damages, interest, costs and attorney’s fees and any other relief deemed appropriate.”

The plaintiff claims in the complaint that, as a result of her expulsion, she was “forced to spend additional money to secure a spot as a student with another school,” Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall. The claim also states she spent money for therapy and treatment, and began to experience “physical symptoms of anxiety and intense and frequent panic attacks.” According to the claim, NMH also refused to refund the 2017 school fees she paid.

The case is another in a string of lawsuits filed against the school in recent years. In June, a complaint alleging sexual abuse of a female student by a female teacher between 1999 and 2001 was filed in Suffolk Superior Court.

Additionally, after hiring a law firm to investigate alleged incidents of past sexual misconduct, NMH fired longtime teacher Gary Partenheimer in 2016 over allegations of misconduct with a female student from more than 30 years earlier. In 2017, a former NMH photography instructor and dorm head, John “Jock” Sturges, was charged with statutory rape of a 14-year-old female student in 1975.

Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.]]>