Can I sue my school for this?

Question

So I have an extreme citrus allergy (like even the scent of an orange will close my throat) and it's been getting progressively worse. I moved to a new town last summer, which means a new school. And the school is incredibly small (2 hallways, no joke) so there is really no safe place for me to sit at lunch without smelling it. It was at a point where I had to go home everyday at lunch because I had an attack. I ended up failing my math and psych class because I could never attend them.

My mom and I had been fighting the school since Oct. to put up a ban on citrus products yet they constantly refused saying "it would be too much work", yet in elementary school peanuts were banned, so why couldn't they do it for citrus. Well in Feburary they finally put up the ban (although the only thing they did was take citrus products out of the vending machine and put a small notice on the news letter, which no one reads), during the ban one teacher continued to order Hawaiian pizza for the school. And now, not even two months later, they took it down. In the past the principal even made suggestions that I do home schooling, and I have a bunch of conditions if i want to attend the school (like I have to have a full schedule otherwise I get kicked out even though I'm in the 11th grade and have some 12th grade courses, yet all my friends in 11th and 12th grade have spares)
When I had asked the one teacher to stop ordering the pizza, she gave me the bitchiest attitude saying things like "Pineapples not a citrus fruit! I looked it up! I did extensive research on it!" (it's not a citrus fruit but it has the same proteins that citrus fruits have and it's the proteins that cause the allergy), and the other day she came up to me and said "I ordered pizza today so go find somewhere else to sit" I said to her "the smell goes through the entire school" and she rolled her eyes and made a "ugh!" noise. (This teacher has also seen me have an attack first hand yet completely ignored it and got mad at my friend for helping me in the middle of class)
So back to my question, is it possible to sue my school for this? My family has tried talking to the principal, all my friends have tried, they made signs asking people to not bring citrus into the school (which were taken down), they even tried to get a petition going but the principal wouldn't allow it. 

The ban got taken down during the week that I missed (I was in the hospital and at doctor appointments in different cities), so is it possible to take this to court?
School's are supposed to be safe for everyone, yet for me it's a death trap.

StayAtHomeMomOnTheGo · Accepted Answer

You can file a lawsuit for anything.  That does not mean you will win.

Do you not go into any restaurant or grocery store?  I fail to see how you can live life expecting every place to accomodate your allergy.  While I understand your plight, it is just not logistical (whether the allergy be peanuts, citrus, strawberries or what not).

It is also wrong of you to be upset with the teacher if you presented your allergy as a citrus allergy and she is eating a non-citrus product that has the same proteins.  You did not present your allergy as one to certain proteins, but as a citrus allergy.

Instead of sueing, I would try to educate.  Print flyers about the allergy and pass them out.  However, know that you can not have citrus and proteins completely banned and if your allergy is that bad, and progressively getting worse, homeschooling may indeed be your best option.

I am not sure about Canada, but in the US you would probably be covered under the Americans with Disabilitites Act.  The school would have to do their best to accomodate you, but again- you can not completely ban it altogether and they can not guarantee you would not be exposed.

? · Answer

FFS

So because YOU have a problem everyone else has to suffer??
What happens when you get to work, are you going to ask for a ban on citrus in the workplace.
What if you are in a shop and someone peels an orange?
What if you are on a bus and someone has a bag of lemons?

Are you going to sue all them as well?
Why not just have citrus products banned worldwide just for YOU.

If you are that allergic to things then you should not be going to school or in fact going out.

OFF COURSE YOU CANNOT SUE the school for what is YOUR PROBLEM.

Syd · Answer

Perhaps you can sue than school and make them ban citrus fruits?  Then perhaps when the other kids get scurvy, they can sue you?

If someone arrives who has a phobia of bells, will they sue the school too?

Anonymous · Answer

Sue,sue sue.It's all people want to do.
Good move. Remove a sizeable amount of money form the school which could have been used for better education,awareness,equipment etc. for others.
A public body can't physically or financially afford to protect everyone from everything.

Anonymous · Answer

Do you really want to go through life thinking that someone else is always to blame? 

Look at the way the Japanese are coping with their disaster and have a reality check. Your 'problem' is pathetic in comparison.

spectrawolveress · Answer

I'm not a lawyer, but I'd say you have a case. I think it'd be under 'endangering the welfare of a child' or something like that. Get some hard evidence (Video footage would be best) showing that the school officials (teacher, principal etc) are blatantly ignoring your allergy, and then bring it up with law enforcement, see where it goes from there.

Anonymous · Answer

In America, you can sue everything and everybody for everything. Now, that doesn't mean you will win every single case...

Chloe C · Answer

I am sure you can. 

If the school are not even trying to help you then they aren;t following the school policy rules thing!

But you have to remember that they cant completely change the school just for your needs.

Jay · Answer

Your parents should contact an attorney and ask him (or her).

Josh · Answer

maybe you should live in a bubble no joke

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Can I sue my school for this?

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