CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — The family of a Chesterfield girl who died after she suffered an allergic reaction when she ate a peanut at Hopkins Elementary School has settled its wrongful death lawsuit against the state for $662,500. Amarria Johnson’s family sued the state when the seven-year-old girl died after a classmate gave her a peanut at school.
As part of the settlement, no one from the school system admitted they did anything wrong in handling the situation.
Johnson’s mother Laura Mary-Beth Pendleton also sued Chesterfield County Schools for defamation claiming they implied she was to blame for her daughter’s January 2012 death. Pendleton, a licensed practical nurse, said she informed the school of her daughter’s severe allergies and provided them with instruction and medicine should Amarria have a reaction.
That lawsuit has also been settled. The terms of that settlement were not made public.
