"My first thing would be like, 'Why wasn't 911 called?' " Steven said, per local station WJXT
A father is speaking out after filing a wrongful death lawsuit against his daughter's school board after she died allegedly as the result of being given a dessert containing nuts, despite having a severe allergy.
Kayleen Brown -- who was a 17-year-old student at Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville, Fla. -- died on April 30, 2023, three days after she ate the pastry baklava on April 27, 2023 while attending an activity meeting on campus.
Per her father Steven Brown's suit filed on July 2, 2024, seen by PEOPLE, he's accused Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) of failing to warn his daughter that the food contained nuts, despite her asking if it did.
After Kayleen questioned whether there were nuts in the baklava, "She was told by DCPS employees/agents that it did not contain nuts," per the documents. However, the food had pistachio nuts in it.
The teenager "then left the school to go to a local pharmacy to obtain Benadryl to treat her symptoms," according to the suit, which stated that "Employees and/or agents of DCPS were aware that she had eaten nuts and was experiencing symptoms associated with her food allergy and permitted her to leave campus."
"She was not taken to the school nurse. Emergency response was not notified. An emergency action plan was not initiated," the suit claimed.
The documents stated that when Kayleen "arrived at the pharmacy her symptoms worsened," saying, "She experienced anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest" before falling "into a coma and was declared dead on April 30, 2023."
Steven Brown has since told local station WJXT on the phone, per an article published on Jan. 6, "My immediate thing was, you know, 'Why did she leave school? Or why was she allowed to leave school if the teacher was aware that she was having an allergic reaction?' My first thing would be like, 'Why wasn't 911 called?' "
The lawsuit stated that DCPS had "developed a Food Allergy Management and Prevention Plan, the purpose of which was to provide guidelines to ensure a safe and healthy educational environment for students with life-threatening food allergies."
"These guidelines required that DCPS employees and/agents be trained to recognize symptoms of an allergic reaction, how to administer epinephrine, and how to notify emergency response when a student is exposed to allergens. The guidelines further provided that an emergency action plan should be initiated if a student reports signs of an allergic reaction and that such students should not be permitted to walk alone to the school nurse or permitted to ride the school bus," the document continued.
Steven claimed in the documents that the school board had "negligently" failed to "initiate an emergency action plan" after his daughter started experiencing symptoms, as well as "failing to notify emergency response," and allowing her "to leave campus without receiving emergency medical treatment," as well as not doing what the Food Allergy Management and Prevention Plan stated.
The Brown family is suing "for damages in excess of $50,000, exclusive of interest, costs and attorney's fees," per the suit. They're also demanding a jury trial.
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The document also stated letters had previously been sent from legal firm Nichols and Pina to the Duval County School board dated May 23 and June 29, 2023, confirming the family's intention to file a wrongful death suit.
Attorney Ted Pina, who is representing the family, said in a statement, "It's hard to imagine sometimes that someone can die from something like this but they can and they do," per WJXT.
"We are very sorry to hear about the tragic passing of this young person, and our sympathies go out to the family. Because this matter appears to involve pending litigation, any district response will come within the context of the judicial proceedings," a Duval County Public Schools spokesperson said, according to the outlet.
Pina and a Duval County Public Schools spokesperson didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.