A young girl was left permanently disabled after her chemistry teacher decided to teach a lesson about “metal and smelting” by bringing samurai swords to school and having students fight with them.
Loviata Mitchell, 45, cleared desks in the classroom at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before arranging a series of two-minute fights.
She then shouted, “I'm in trouble!” and ordered students to delete their videos as just seconds later a katana severed the nerves and tendons in a girl's hand.
A school investigation concluded that Mitchell did not violate any rules, but now she and the school district are being sued by the 16-year-old's family after surgery failed to repair the damage.
“I spoke to her surgeon and he could actually feel where the sword had left a mark in the bone,” said family attorney Jessica Hernandez.
Video filmed by the girl shows two classmates swinging swords at each other in the classroom at Volcano Vista High School just seconds before their own fateful fight
Chemistry teacher Loviata Mitchell brought the weapons for a lesson on “metal and smelting.”
But her 16-year-old student was left permanently disabled after a sword severed the nerves and tendons in her hand as she competed against a classmate
“These injuries cause her ongoing daily pain and result in her being unable to perform many basic daily tasks.”
Mitchell told students at the start of classes in May 2022, “I have a surprise for you,” the lawsuit says.
She pulled out a katana and a rapier, cleared a spot in the middle of the class, and set a two-minute timer on a monitor.
Footage of the first fight filmed by the girl shows two boys without face shields or protective gear gingerly clinking their three-foot-long swords together as Mitchell leans against a sink with a smile on his face.
Both appeared to survive unscathed, but seconds later it was the girl's turn as she entered the impromptu arena to confront a classmate identified in the documents as “DM.”
“DM struck NS with the katana-style sword on her right forearm, wrist and hand,” it said.
“NS sustained a large and deep laceration to his right hand and wrist that is not consistent with a 'prop' sword.”
Mitchell allegedly told students not to report the accident and tried to call the school health department but “couldn't figure out how to do it.”
Mitchell watched, smiling, as her students tried not to hurt each other
The girl's lawyers say that this katana was one of the weapons used that day
Mitchell uploaded this photo to celebrate her graduation with a Master of Arts in Special Education in Spring 2021
She herself experienced scary objects with blades up close on Halloween 2020
“As NS began to feel nauseous and weak from blood loss, another student ran to the VVHS health office to get medical attention,” court documents state.
It took 20 minutes before the girl was allowed to call her family, and another 10 minutes before a school health aide finally called 911 and EMS took her to an emergency room.
“It's shocking that this little girl is bleeding in a classroom and paramedics aren't called for 30 minutes,” Hernandez said.
“So those are also procedures that Albuquerque Public Schools needs to address to first make sure that something like this doesn’t happen.”
“But if a student is injured, what are you going to do about it immediately to make sure they get the care they need?”
Assistant principal Manuel Algaza is also being sued after his investigation cleared Mitchell of blame for the “accident.”
“In response to the report's question: 'Did the violation violate school rules?' Mr. Alzaga checked a “no” box, the lawsuit says.
The girl has endured a series of surgeries, physical therapy and psychological counseling and continues to struggle with tasks such as pressing buttons, zipping up zippers and cooking.
“Despite this surgical repair of NS’s nerves and tendons, it was not possible to fully repair them and they remain damaged,” Hernandez said.
“As a result, her wrist and hand are permanently injured.” These injuries cause her ongoing daily pain and result in her being unable to perform many basic everyday tasks.
“When you get hurt like that as a 16-year-old and suddenly you can't do the same things you used to – it's really disheartening.” It's depressing. It's isolating.'
A school district spokesperson told NBC that Mitchell was fired two months later, but could not confirm that it was related to the incident.
The civil lawsuit was filed last week in New Mexico's 2nd Judicial District Court by the girl's grandparents, Arnold and Judy Gachupin, who are her guardians.
A spokesperson for Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) said they are prohibited from commenting on active litigation.
Mitchell seems to have a penchant for dangerous props, as evidenced by this photo she uploaded to Facebook just a day after bringing her swords to school
“Not only did this teacher and APS fail to protect this child, but they actively put them in danger, actively created that danger, and put deadly weapons directly into the hands of these students,” Hernandez told KOAT.com.
“Exactly what could reasonably be expected happened.”
“If I’m a parent and I take my child to school, I think they’re safe.”
“I think the teachers will protect them, and the exact opposite happened here.”