Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Failed To Heed Warning Signs Of Violence From Shooter, Parkland Families Say In Lawsuit
The New York Times: Parkland Victims’ Families Sue, Claiming Negligence In Mass Shooting
The families of some of the victims of the mass shooting last year in Parkland, Fla., filed 22 lawsuits on Wednesday accusing the local school district and sheriff’s office of negligence and seeking potentially millions of dollars in damages as compensation. The lawsuits claim that the Broward County Public Schools failed to keep students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School safe in spite of warning signs that the shooting suspect, Nikolas Cruz, a former student, had threatened violence against the school community. (Mazzei, 4/10)
The Washington Post: Families Of Massacre Victims Criticize Notification Process
Families whose loved ones perished in last year’s Florida high school massacre told a state commission Wednesday they waited hours, often alone in a room, before being told of the death in a process that seemed chaotic and lacking empathy. Parents of students Luke Hoyer, Gina Montalto and Jaime Guttenberg and the wife of athletic director Chris Hixon told the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission stories whose details differed but carried the thread that the Broward Sheriff’s Office had no apparent protocol for notifying families of a mass tragedy, which led to confusion in the hours after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting that left 17 dead and 17 wounded. (Spencer and Kennedy, 4/10)
