A local law firm has secured $800,000 for the family of an autistic boy left on a school bus for six hours.
According to a statement from Brendan Franks, CEO at AZ Law Now Injury Attorneys, the 5-year-old, non-verbal boy was forgotten and locked on his school bus.
Details about the case, the school and the family were not made public, but Franks said the incident took place in November 2024, after which the boy’s mother contacted 22 law firms before Franks agreed to pursue the case.
Franks said he saw beyond the fact that the boy suffered no physical injuries, something that would make a lawsuit easier.
“No broken bones, No MRI findings, No economic damages,” Franks stated. “His terror didn't show up on an X-ray, so it wasn't worth pursuing.”
Franks said he took the case because he has kids and he knows that “invisible trauma is still real.”
“When they came to us, we saw what mattered: a traumatized child and a system that failed him,” Franks said.
