FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, USA (AP) – The Broward County School District in Florida will pay more than $ 26 million to the families of the 17 people killed and to some people who were injured in the shooting massacre. Valentine’s Day 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The members of the board approved on Tuesday two judicial arrangements for the delivery of the compensation.
A total of $ 25 million will be awarded to 51 plaintiffs, including relatives of the 17 fatalities as well as the students and staff who were injured at the Parkland City School. The families also reached a settlement last month with the FBI that will pay them $ 127 million due to the agency’s inaction to prevent the attack.
The district will also pay $ 1.25 million to Anthony Borges, who suffered some of the most serious injuries. His attorney separated from the main case on the grounds that Borges will have a life of expensive medical care, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that state law limited the district’s liability to $ 300,000, which agreed to exceed that amount. Since the shooting, two relatives of the fatal victims have been elected to the school board: Debbi Hixon, whose husband Chris Hixon was the athletic director, and Lori Alhadeff, the mother of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff. None of them participated in the negotiations or voting.
“While we recognize that no amount of money can ever repay these families, the school board hopes that this arrangement shows our sincere commitment to MSD families, students, staff and faculty as well as the Broward County community,” said Marylin Batista, Acting General Counsel of the Board.
The group Stand With Parkland, which represents the families of the victims, said their goal has been to hold accountable those who in their opinion could have detained the assailant, an expelled student with a long history of mental and emotional problems. Two students said their warnings to a school administrator that the former student could carry out an attack were ignored.
The assailant, Nikolas Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murder and attempted murder. At his trial, which is scheduled to begin next year, it will be determined whether he will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without the right to parole.
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