BEAUMONT — Beaumont ISD, Self-Insured TASB Risk Management Fund has answered a suit brought by a former teacher, Ashli Feacher.
Feacher claims she was “harassed and terminated” because of her sickle cell disease, high absenteeism and for filing a Worker’s Compensation Claim, which the BISD Fund took special exception to in its answer, filed June 21.
In November, Feacher also filed a separate suit against the district’s property inspector and maintenance providers, alleging their negligence led to her being exposed to mold.
According to that complaint, on Dec. 13, 2015, Feacher was hospitalized due to exposure to mold while performing her work as a teacher at Vincent Middle School in Beaumont. Her exposure to mold and other contaminants caused her severe physical illness such as aggravation of her pre-existing sickle cell disease.
In the litigation against the the BISD Fund, the defendant asserts a general denial and pleads that Feacher did not sustain a compensable injury in the form of an occupational disease on Nov. 9, 2015.
The answer also states the Texas Worker’s Compensation Appeal Panel correctly found Feacher did not sustain a compensable injury that resulted in an aggravation of her sickle cell disease.
The BISD Fund is represented by Don Lighty, attorney for the Beaumont law firm Stevens Baldo Freeman & Lighty.
Jefferson County District Court Case Nos. B-199245 and D199898