Student Killed at Franklin High School After Fall From Fourth Floor

LOS ANGELES, CA – A student died Wednesday after falling from the fourth floor of a building at Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park, prompting a Los Angeles Police Department death investigation.

The fall was reported at about 1 p.m. on Sept. 30 at the campus in the 800 block of North Avenue 54. Police described the student as a boy and have not released his name or age, although classmates told reporters he was a senior.

Police have not released findings on how the fall happened, and investigators are reviewing witness statements and video gathered on campus.

Students told ABC7 Los Angeles the teen fell from a balcony after a dispute with another student, an account police have not confirmed. KTLA reported that witnesses saw the student go over a fourth-floor railing and that he was pronounced dead at a hospital. The station also reported that video circulating online appears to show a student being knocked to the floor in a classroom before the fall.

The Los Angeles School Police Department described the situation as a medical emergency while the campus remained on lockdown for nearly three hours. The school stayed open Thursday, and grief counselors were available to students and staff.

School Safety and Bullying Data

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that about 19 percent of students ages 12 to 18 said they were bullied during the 2021-22 school year. About 44 percent of those students said they notified an adult at school.

The California Building Code requires railings, which it calls guards, to be at least 42 inches high along open-sided walking surfaces more than 30 inches above the ground. Openings in a required guard must be too small for a 4-inch sphere to pass through. Public reports have not described the height or design of the railing at Franklin, or whether it met the standards in effect when the building was constructed or last altered.

California Liability Rules for School Districts

California courts recognize a special relationship between school personnel and the students under their supervision. The state Supreme Court addressed district liability in C.A. v. William S. Hart Union High School District, a 2012 case involving a school counselor. The court held that a district can be vicariously liable under Government Code § 815.2 for the negligence of administrators and supervisors. It described a protective duty of ordinary care that school personnel owe to students in their charge.

Education Code § 44807 directs every public school teacher to hold pupils to a strict account for their conduct. California courts have applied a duty to supervise students while they are on school grounds. Education Code § 234.1 requires districts to adopt policies and complaint procedures that address bullying and harassment based on specified characteristics. That process must direct school personnel who witness such acts to intervene when it is safe to do so.

Public reports have not said what staff knew of any earlier conflict between the students or whether anyone intervened when the confrontation began.

Government Code § 835 separately allows a claim against a public entity for injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property. The claimant must show that the condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the injury. The claimant must also show that the entity created the condition or had notice of it in time to protect against it.

If a claim succeeds, Code of Civil Procedure §§ 377.60 and 377.61 allow specified family members to recover damages in a wrongful death action. Parents qualify when they would inherit because the student left no spouse or children. Section 377.30 allows the student’s estate to pursue a survival action for losses he sustained before death.

Government Code § 911.2 requires a written claim to a public entity such as the Los Angeles Unified School District by late March 2027, six months after the death.

Legal Help for Families

J&Y Law represents California families in wrongful death and premises liability cases on a contingency-fee basis, so families owe no attorney fees unless the firm recovers compensation. Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1 generally requires a wrongful death lawsuit to be filed within two years of the death. Claims against public entities such as school districts also require a government claim within six months under Government Code § 911.2. Families can contact J&Y Law to discuss a potential claim before that six-month deadline passes.