Is Giving Peanuts to a Kid with Nut Allergies an Act of Violence?

By Chris Vogel Thu., Mar. 17 2011 at 1:50 PM

It seems like every kid these days has a nut allergy. And parents are freaking out, rearranging birthday parties and sleep-overs to accommodate the ones stricken with this particular food allergy.

But what if someone does give your child a nut, or a peanut butter cracker or cookie?

Is that an act of violence?

According to a recent California federal court ruling, the answer is no.

The case began when Lawrence and Darlene McCue approached their son's school, South Fork Elementary in Weldon, roughly 160 miles north of LA, about their kid's nut allergies, asking that teachers accommodate his special needs.

At first, the school agreed to let the child sit at a nut-free table in the cafeteria during lunch, but later told the parents that they couldn't keep it up and offered to let the student eat his food in an office to keep him safe.

According to the recent court ruling, first reported by Courthouse News Service, the McCunes continually asked that the school stop serving nut-products altogether, but the school refused. Then one day, while out on the playground, someone at the school served up a batch of peanut butter cookies.

The McCune boy had a bite, and then he had an allergic reaction, sending him to the hospital.

The family then decided to sue the school, claiming that it failed to make accommodations for their son and that the principal "threatened to harm" the child by refusing to keep him in a nut-free environment as a way to stop the McCunes from repeatedly requesting accommodations for their boy.

It would, however, prove to be a losing battle.

"Serving a child a peanut butter cookie is not an inherently violent act," ruled U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger.

In the end, he concluded that there was no evidence that anyone at the school threatened to intentionally give the student nut products, and that the "refusal of school administrators to abolish all nut products from a school's campus is not the type of statement that would reasonably tend to produce fear of violence in an ordinary listener."

Tags:

allergy, lawsuit, McCue, peanut butter, school, South Fork, violence

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Crysse777

Response to Jellyfish

You're an idiot Jellyfish! This child’s allergies came on suddenly. This was a new change of life events in the entire household on what they can and cannot have in the home that he might be allergic to and they were taking every possible measure in the home to make sure he didn't have any allergic reactions. I commend these parents for rearranging the way they ate and how they lived to accommodate their child to insure his safety. That's LOVE. I know this child personally and the family. He was only 7 or 8 yrs. old and he had been through many traumatic health issues in his short life that were no fault of his parents or his. These parents did teach him to read labels, but when the school bakes the cookies and there's no label to read how is the child suppose to know any differently--he was a child!!! Kids like cookies and they trust the adults at the school to keep them safe from harms way. I have severe food allergies too. I never in my life had allergies to foods or dyes until I had an M.R.I . 3 years ago and I ended up in anaphylactic shock and almost died. That's a harsh wake up call. You have to watch everything you eat and touch not just in grocery stores, but in restaurants and everywhere you go. I woke up in the hospital thanks to someone seeing this happen, otherwise I would be dead. If idiots can sue and win in court for spilling hot coffee on their crotch when they know its hot coffee because its coffee and the label tells them its hot, then why the hell can't this school be sued for being that stupid too?! This is the same school that forgets to give its students their medications for things like A.D.H.D, and then when the kid is out of control they call the parent to come and get their kid. The question is why didn't they give the kid his medicine? The schools answer--because the kid forgot to come to the office to take it. Who is the adult them or the kid? If the kid has A.D.H.D. he's not gonna remember to go take his meds. The office staff should've called him into the office to take it when they knew he didn't do this on his own. They real truth is that the school doesn't want to be bothered with kids that aren't PERFECT. If they need meds, they may or may not give it to them and why since its much easier to wait until the kid flips out and call the parents to come take him home so their job is much easier. Make the parents leave their job since its their kid that’s the problem and why should the school care that it has caused these parents an undue hardship? The school figures those kids don't need an education as they have issues, let their parents deal with rearranging their lives for their kids since its their fault the kid is that way----WRONG!!!! No one is perfect and if you have a kid with special needs, whether its food allergies or A.D.H.D., BiPolar, or mental retardation, then its the schools JOB to meet the needs of that kid. These kids have every right to a free, PUBLIC EDUCATION too! No one wants to be held accountable these days for their actions or failure to act. The real problem isn't the kid having the allergy or his parents not teaching him or his parents thinking he's a snowflake. The problem is assholes like you that think you can harm a child through a cookie or a nut (In an around-about way) and think you did nothing wrong!!! You put the blame on the parents instead of asking why the school didn't meet his needs in order for him to have an education just like the others?! Why don't you go eat a nut cookie!! People need to be held accountable for their own stupidity and/or ignorance. Stupidity and Ignorance seems to run rampant in Lake Isabella and the outlying areas. If people were held accountable for being Ignorant and stupid, they might actually learn something. If you're not part of the SOLUTION, you're part of the PROBLEM! I would do the same if this happened to my child. This shows that I give a damn about my kid, and his education with his peers. Food allergies are on the rise and we need to educate ourselves and our children, including those that don't have these issues, because they might just have them later in life as I myself do.

jellyfish

I have severe food allergies and I think this is silly. No one MADE the boy eat it. He put the cookie in his mouth himself. The parents need to teach their kid not to eat stuff like this as the parents won't be there forever to hover over him. Schools have better things to do then babysit precious snowflakes. I learned this lesson early. Hell, I was reading labels when I learned to read.

NoHo Mom

This is going to become a bigger issue that school districts will have to address, like bullying. Allergies are on the rise and are becoming more severe. The school has no control over a private individual serving cookies, but it would be great to make an effort to educate all parents about the potential outcome of serving nuts to someone with a life-threatening allergy. Many parents are not aware how serious this can be for some kids, and when informed can make safer choices for everyone when preparing treats for school.

Most allergy kids are taught never to accept food from an unknown source, even from a family member, in case of accidental contamination. Sounds like the boy survived, but he will probably think twice about taking a cookie next time.