Atlantic Coast High School, Jacksonville, Florida (screengrab via First Coast News).
A Florida high school student passed away in 2023 due to a severe allergic reaction to nuts, leading the father to file a lawsuit against the school district.
The student, named Kayleen Brown, was 17 years old and attended Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville. She had a nut allergy along with other severe food allergies.
Similar to many students dealing with food allergies, Kayleen and her family had devised a Food Allergy Management and Prevention Plan in collaboration with the Duval County Public School district (DCPS). The plan involved training DCPS staff to identify allergic reaction symptoms, administer epinephrine, and seek emergency assistance if Kayleen came into contact with allergens.
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According to the complaint filed by Kayleen’s father, Steven Brown, Kayleen had been attending a school activity meeting on April 27, 2023, at which baklava was served to students. Kayleen was unfamiliar with the food and asked if it contained nuts. School staff told her that it did not contain nuts, despite the fact that the baklava actually contained pistachio nuts.
Kayleen began to experience allergy symptoms and told a school employee that she had eaten nuts and was beginning to experience a reaction. She then left the school, went to a local pharmacy, and obtained Benadryl to treat her symptoms.
According to the complaint, school staff was aware that Kayleen was having an allergic reaction, but failed to take her to a school nurse, did not contact emergency response, and did not initiate Kayleen’s emergency action plan. Kayleen’s symptoms worsened when she arrived at the pharmacy. She experienced anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest, and ultimately fell into a coma and died.
In his complaint, Steven Brown said that DCPS employees were aware Kayleen had eaten nuts and was negligent in serving those nuts to her, particularly given that she had specifically inquired as to whether the food was nut free. Further, Brown alleged that the district negligently failed to train staffers on food allergen procedures and negligently failed to follow its own food allergy management and prevention plan.
Brown’s wrongful death claim is for unspecified damages that exceed $50,000 intended to address medical and funeral expenses, lost income, and the suffering of Kayleen’s surviving parents.
Brown family attorney Ted Pina issued a statement to press that emphasized the seriousness of food allergies.
“It’s hard to imagine sometimes that someone can die from something like this but they can and they do,” Pina said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, food allergies are a growing public health concern that affect an estimated 4%–6% of children in the United States. The CDC advises that schools create and maintain voluntary individual plans for food allergy management in consultation with parents that are tailored to the needs of each child that has a documented risk for anaphylaxis.
You can read the full complaint here.
Law&Crime reached out to the parties for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
