A San Bernardino County school district has agreed to a $15.75 million settlement with the family of a student who died following an asthma attack while on campus.

Thirteen-year-old Adilene Carrasco was a student at Mesa View Middle School in Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District when she suffered an asthma attack on October 13, 2019.

While walking with her science class to the school's athletic field, Adilene began to experience difficulty breathing. Adilene reportedly asked her teacher if she could go back to the classroom to use her inhaler. The teacher allowed Adilene to go back and asked another student to walk with Adilene.

After using her inhaler Adilene continued to experience difficulty breathing, and as a result, asked her teacher if she could go to the nurse. The teacher again sent a student to accompany Adilene to the nurse's office, a direct violation of district protocol which requires a student to be accompanied by an adult.

As Adilene and her classmate began to walk to the nurse's office, Adilene’s condition worsened according to the classmate. A campus monitor who was on a golf cart noticed Adilene’s worsening condition and drove the 13-year-old the rest of the way to the nurse’s office.

Adilene’s classmate explains in the lawsuit, “She was — well, at a certain point, she couldn’t stand on her own and had to be supported.” The classmate added, “She was breathing very hard in a way, like, gasping almost for air, and her voice wasn’t clear in a way, if that’s a good way to describe it.”

The lawsuit also incorporated doctor testimony that outlined Adilene’s condition was made worse because she was required to walk far distances. The testimony details that Adilene walked an equivalent of 13 football fields in order to be seen by the school nurse.

When Adilene arrived at the nurse's office, the nurse began to administer CPR. Paramedics were called and the teen was transported to San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital. She remained unresponsive at the hospital and was then transferred to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital where she would eventually be declared brain dead on November 9.

The family lawsuit accuses the school of being ill-prepared and not immediately responding appropriately at the start of Adilene’s asthma attack. The lawsuit also points out that the school had a documented record of Adilene’s previous asthma attacks including two documented attacks that occurred just months before her death.

The family’s attorney Robert Glassman shared in a press statement, “Adilene’s death was a preventable tragedy that resonates and reaffirms the fear of every parent and caregiver of an asthmatic child. Asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism and the number one reason school-age children go the emergency room.”

In addition to the $15.75 million settlement, the school district has agreed to adopt the California School Board Association's best practices on asthma management. As well, the school district has agreed to work with medical professionals who specialize in asthma in order to better train school staff and teachers.