$12-Million Settlement OKd in Pool Accident

An immigrant teen-ager who suffered permanent brain damage when he almost drowned at Anaheim High School could receive more than $12 million over his lifetime as the result of a court settlement reached Monday.

“I’m thankful that there will be a way for us to take care of him and pay his bills,” the teen-ager’s older sister, Kim Luu, said after the settlement was made. “He is a totally different person (because of the accident). We’re just getting to know him again.”

Duc Thuong Luu, 17, has had memory and concentration lapses ever since he almost drowned during a physical education class at Anaheim High’s swimming pool on April 7, 1989. Luu went into the pool during an exercise session, although he does not know how to swim.

Under an elaborate financial plan, Luu will receive a first payment of about $1 million from the Anaheim Union High School District’s insurance company and get periodic payments until he is 73.

The settlement was proposed after five days of trial sessions earlier this month and finally approved Monday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Eileen C. Moore.

Luu’s lawsuit alleged that the teacher in charge of his class, Diane Taylor, was the only adult present and that she failed to monitor more than 30 students who were around the pool.

Witnesses have said Luu, then a 15-year-old freshman, apparently slid off an inflated tube and slipped underwater while Taylor was teaching another student to swim in the shallow end.

Luu was under water 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes before students spotted him motionless on the bottom, said Richard Paul Levy, the boy’s attorney.

Once Luu was found, he said, Taylor did not swim to him but used a pole to pull the boy to the surface, where she tried to resuscitate him.

Luu’s family contended that the accident could have been avoided with better teacher training in lifesaving techniques and more student supervision.

District officials maintained that the teacher acted properly and that there was no district negligence.

“We believe it is a fair and amiable settlement,” said Glenn S. Goldby, attorney for the district. “The minor bore some responsibility.”

District authorities said Monday that they did not know whether supervision policies at the school pool have changed since the incident.

After the accident, Luu went through a deep depression, according to his attorney and relatives. Although he shows no physical signs of his ordeal, family members say, he bears emotional scars.

Once ebullient, Luu has become quiet, Levy said.

The youth--who came from Vietnam to the United States at age 1 and is the second-eldest of six children--is enrolled in a rehabilitation program in Apple Valley, where his condition continues to improve, Levy said.

And he plans to attend college someday, according to his family.

“It’s been very stressful for him and us,” said Kim Luu, 25.