A mother in Georgia has filed a lawsuit against a school district, contending that staff members disregarded medical advice regarding her son, who is disabled and suffers from epilepsy. She claims they endangered him by giving him an iPad right before a “severe” seizure occurred. During the incident, staff attempted CPR and used a defibrillator despite existing medical protocols, which allegedly resulted in fatal complications.

Kandis Horton, the mother of 11-year-old Aa’Dyen Hooks, states in her comprehensive legal filing that her son sustained a hypoxic ischemic brain injury on November 3, 2023. Horton asserts that this injury was precisely what medical experts sought to prevent when they outlined emergency treatment plans for her son.

According to Horton, staff at Euchee Creek Elementary School, part of the Columbia County School District, not only neglected the prescribed emergency treatments but also failed to respond promptly as Aa’Dyen began seizing, leaving him unattended for nearly a minute, according to the lawsuit.

The legal action singles out three staff members—Robin Hankal, Haley Fisher, and Scott Jacobs—alongside the school district as defendants.

The complaint further alleges that during Aa’Dyen’s seizure, Jacobs, along with several students, merely stepped around him without assessing his condition. As Aa’Dyen continued to convulse, his body was forced into a crouched position, ultimately flipping onto his back.

Despite Aa’Dyen’s heart not having fully stopped, Jacobs proceeded with CPR, contradicting the directives outlined in Aa’Dyen’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and emergency medical plans, as stated in the lawsuit.

Aa’Dyen was said to have multiple “disabilities and special needs,” including developmental delays, “complex heart conditions,” liver cancer and epilepsy.

Hankal, the school nurse, administered the electrical defibrillation after Aa’Dyen’s seizure using an automated external defibrillator, or AED, despite Aa’Dyen’s emergency medical plans stating that his cardiologist advised against doing so because it “could further damage Aa’Dyen’s heart due to its fragile condition,” per the complaint.

“Aa’Dyen suffered severe and permanent injury as a direct result of defendants’ improper handling of the seizure Aa’Dyen experienced,” the complaint alleges, noting how Aa’Dyen was in a coma “for days” following the medical incident.

“Aa’Dyen showed no response, even to painful stimuli, during this time,” the document adds. “For the remainder of his life, Aa’Dyen’s rehabilitation only allowed Aa’Dyen to open his eyes.”

Aa’Dyen remained in an “unresponsive state” from Nov. 3, 2023, until Jan. 23, 2024, his mother says. He was diagnosed with Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome on Jan. 23, 2024, which is more commonly known as a “vegetative state.”

“Aa’Dyen’s cognitive capabilities were that of an infant,” the complaint says.

Even worse, Aa’Dyen had to be removed from heart and liver transplant lists he was on, which led to him “no longer” having a “viable chance to survive his full lifespan,” according to the complaint.

“Aa’Dyen’s medical providers anticipated that he [would] eventually succumb to either heart or liver complications now that he no longer has a chance of receiving a heart or liver transplant,” the complaint states. Aa’Dyen passed away in February 2025 “as a result of the incident on Nov. 3, 2023,” the document alleges.

Horton spoke to local CBS affiliate WRDW about what Aa’Dyen likely went through that day at school after she filed an amended complaint last week in Columbia County.

“I was wondering what my baby was thinking at the time. ‘Is anybody going to help me?’” Horton said. “I think the most disheartening part was seeing him step over my son and my baby struggle to turn over and waiting on somebody to administer aid to him because he did not have the ability to advocate for himself. That’s why things were put into place to have somebody with him, and he was failed that day.”

Horton’s complaint says Aa’Dyen experienced the seizure “at the very time he was staring at the iPad that had been given to him by defendants.” He quickly became unsteady and fell to the floor while holding the device, with his seizure episode being consistent with those listed in his IEP and medical documentation, “both in how it was apparently triggered as well as the resultant episode,” the complaint alleges.

Horton says Aa’Dyen was given an iPad on multiple occasions by Fisher, his “assigned shadow.” She accuses Fisher of also not being in the classroom at the time of his seizure, despite being tasked with “monitoring” his medical conditions at all times.

It was Fisher who allegedly gave Aa’Dyen the iPad “on multiple occasions, increasing his risk of seizure,” the complaint says.

“It was written in his IEP that he was not to have an iPad, not just for behavior purposes, but his iPad could trigger him to have a seizure,” Horton reiterated to WRDW. “I feel like they robbed my son of having a future that he deserved,” she said. “They failed my baby. They did. And nobody deserves that.”

The Columbia County School District did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Tuesday. The district argues in court filings that school staff acted appropriately and that Horton never requested that Aa’Dyen not be provided an iPad or tablet during school hours. It has asked that the lawsuit be dismissed and claims that at least one of the defendants, Fisher, is entitled to “official immunity” under Georgia state law.

“The general task imposed on teachers and other school personnel to monitor, supervise, and control students has been held to be a discretionary action which is protected by the doctrine of official immunity,” the district’s motion to dismiss says. “The Courts in Georgia have consistently acknowledged that the decisions made by educators when dealing with students under their supervision are neither easy, clear or prescribed, but instead require educators to use their judgment.”