LOS ANGELES—A judge has denied a bid by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to dismiss wholly or in part a lawsuit filed by the mother of a 15-year-old girl who died of a drug overdose in a high school restroom in 2022, finding that there were triable issues for a jury.
Plaintiff Elena Perez’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges that Bernstein High School officials knew there was a problem with drug use at the Hollywood campus, but took no action that could have saved her daughter, Melanie Ramos. The coroner’s report stated that Melanie died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl on Sept. 13, 2022.
