Staff at a boarding school who were "trained to assume students will lie about being ill" ignored a teenage girl's sickness, it is claimed.
Taylor Goodridge, 17, collapsed and died on December 20 at the Diamond Ranch Academy in Hurricane, Utah, US, after suffering crippling stomach pain.
Her dad Dean Goodridge, from Washington, has launched a lawsuit against the boarding school alleging staff dismissed his daughter's "serve" stomach pain.
He alleges the school told his daughter to "suck it up" and claimed Taylor was faking her pain as they told her to drink water and take aspirin.
According to Mr Goodridge, the pain was so bad his daughter collapsed in her vomit.
Former employees claim school staff were trained to assume students would like about being ill.
Seven former members of staff claim Taylor said she was ill on several different occasions in the last three months before she died, reports NBC.
However, she was allegedly never seen by a doctor off-campus to be evaluated.
Diamond Ranch Academy is described as a "therapeutic boarding school" that helps support teens with mental conditions including major depressive disorder and anger management issues.
Supervisor Tianamarie Govar, who worked on night shifts at Diamond Ranch Academy until October 20, said: "There would be nights she would throw up and staff didn’t care to do anything."
In addition, she claimed staff allegedly refused to let her use a thermometer to check Taylor's temperature one night after she was complaining of stomach pains.
One former member of staff, who spoke anonymously, claimed they were told children who complained about being ill only did so for attention or to avoid homework.
They claimed only medical staff members could recommend the students be taken to hospital.
lan Mortensen, a lawyer for the Goodridge family, said: “They’re trapped when they have a medical issue.”
He added it was "totally to the discretion of the school” to decide if the students wanted to seek treatment.
While another staff member added Taylor had allegedly vomited three times in the week leading up to her death.
Diamond Ranch Academy’s lawyer said many of the allegations from former staff members and the family’s lawsuit are “demonstrably false."
Diamond Ranch Academy's lawyer Bill Frazier said the school has “substantial disagreement with many aspects”of the lawsuit and the staff's allegations.
He said: "One thing we have agreement on, it’s a tragic circumstance. Any time you have a 17-year-old die, it’s horrendous and we’re crestfallen by it.”
Diamond Ranch Academy has been placed on probation by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services as the Hurricane Police Department investigate Taylor’s death.
The Health and Human Services Department said the academy is “actively collaborating with investigators.”
