OPS agrees to pay teacher $125,000 in school fight settlement

By Bill Schammert

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — On Monday, the Omaha Public School Board approved a six-figure settlement for a former teacher who was hurt during a fight between students.

According to the settlement, the teacher was accidentally hurt when trying to break up a fight in September 2022. A GoFundMe in the teacher’s name said she was slammed against a wall.

The board approved a $125,000 payment, which will be paid from the district’s workers’ compensation fund. About $50,000 of that will go toward legal fees.

The district didn’t have any other comment on the settlement.

The former teacher, who has since left OPS, alleges she had injuries to her lower back, hips, and mental health. She said the fight caused depression and anxiety.

OPS denied the physical and mental injuries were a result of the incident.

She had fusion surgery in June 2023, but according to the settlement, a physician performed an independent exam and “opined that the Plaintiff suffered only a lumbar strain and temporary aggravation of the Plaintiff’s underlying arthritis.”

The physician did not believe the teacher’s need for surgery was caused by the incident.

As part of the settlement, OPS is “fully discharged from all further liability” and the former teacher is not entitled to more “workers’ compensation benefits, including temporary or permanent disability, vocational rehabilitation, and medical, hospital, or miscellaneous expenses” from the incident.

The former teacher currently has a part-time job working as an academic adviser for an Omaha area nonprofit.

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