The Boston City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a request to the state legislature to increase Patricia Lampron’s retirement benefits to cover the 40% of her salary she lost after suffering a traumatic brain injury at the hands of a 16-year-old student at the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, who punched her repeatedly in the head and face until she fell to ground unconscious in November, 2021.
City Councillor John FitzGerald said Lampron underwent more than two years of intensive therapy for speech, mobility and cognitive abilities, but was never able to return to work – and continues to need ongoing therapy and counseling for PTSD.
FitzGerald said Lampron got worker’s comp for three years, but that only covered 60% of her salary, forcing her to use accumulated sick leave to cover the rest – something that affect calculations for her pension and annuity payments.
FitzGerald, along with Councillors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn, filed a request to the legislature for a special law that would increase Lampron’s pension by the amount she would have received in salary had she not been punched out of her job. FitzGerald said state Rep. Dan Hunt has started work at his end to introduce and pass the measure.
This would not be needed “had Patricia been a police officer, EMT or any other public safety official,” FitzGerald said, adding that, as a principal, Lampron was also not part of a union.
Murphy said Lampron’s case is personal for her, because they used to teach in adjoining rooms at the Murphy School – and then, after Lampron became principal at the Henderson, she went to work under her there.
“She’s dedicated her career to Boston Public Schools,” Murphy said, adding, “she championed inclusion and dignity for all students.”
The student, Laurette LeRouge, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and battery on a person over 60 and was committed to DYS custody until she turns 21, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office reports. The names of teen suspects are normally not released, but she was charged as a “youthful offender,” which allowed the release of her name due to the severity of the attack.
