Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A California Superior Court jury has ordered the San Diego Unified School District to pay $1.25 million to a former student who, after her bathroom break request was denied, was forced to pee in a bucket.
The incident occurred at the Patrick Henry High School on Feb. 22, 2012. The school district denied the student's initial claim seeking $25,000 but the California jury voted in favor of the student. The student said the incident fueled gossip, lewd texts, depression and a suicide attempt.
The San Diego Unified School District's lawyers said the teacher never intended to embarrass the student, arguing she attempted to find a solution in a lapse of judgement to what she mistakenly believed was a strict no-bathroom-break policy, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
In the lawsuit, the student, now 19 years old, said teacher Gonja Wolf rejected the student's request to go to the bathroom, believing it was against the school's rules. Wolf instead told the student to use a supply room next to the classroom where she could pee in a bucket to then dump the contents in a sink.
"Something like this never should have happened to a 14-year-old girl just entering high school," the student's attorney, Brian Watkins, said. "She took the stand and told a really embarrassing story, she told the jury how this has affected her life and how she is still working through issues."
The teacher no longer works for the school. Watkins said the student, who was forced to transfer schools twice due to bullying, still goes to therapy due to the post-traumatic stress caused by the incident.
