Mother sues Union-Endicott schools over bullying incidents

Mother sues Union-Endicott schools over bullying incidents that ‘led to son’s death’ (wbng.com)

Union-Endicott School District is facing a lawsuit from the mother of a student who died.

According to the lawsuit, which was given to 12 News from the Law Office of Ronald R. Benjamin, the school was aware Domanick Hayward, 13, was bullied and it received reports of incidents of name-calling and physical violence. Despite this, the lawsuit alleges that no action was taken by the district to stop the bullying.

Hayward’s mother, Aime Crawford, is filing a lawsuit against the Union-Endicott School District. Domanick died in November.

“I’m trying to do the best I can to be his voice, to continue to help others so this doesn’t happen and raise more awareness,” said Crawford. “This is a big issue. Mental health is a big issue out here and people need to be more aware, maybe educate themselves better and be more understanding.”

Crawford hopes the school learns from what happened and is able to take action during similar situations in the future.

“They didn’t do anything for my son until after the fact of him being gone,” said Crawford. “I want them to have to do something if any other child comes to them.”

Crawford said another reason for the lawsuit is to hold both the school and students who bullied Hayward accountable. Attorney Ronald Benjamin said the school failed to protect Dominack.

“There was a failure to safely protect the student that was the subject of untold violence and name-calling,” said Benjamin.

12 News reached out to Union-Endicott School District for a comment on the lawsuit. The district said it was unable to comment on ongoing litigation matters.