Parents Hermann and Maryann Bensurto want answers after teachers and staff at Quail Valley Middle School in Fort Bend Independent School District allegedly failed to act for two hours while their non-verbal, autistic son writhed in pain on the floor after shattering his femur.
According to both testimony and school security footage, 11-year-old Kyle Bensurto slipped and fell at school on November 5. He remained lying on the floor, crying out in pain, for two hours before staff intervened. After being notified by middle school staff that her son wouldn’t get up, Maryann drove to the school and called her husband upon arrival.
Kyle’s father, Hermann Bensurto, described the phone call: “I heard in the background the nurse was asking, ‘Do we need to call an ambulance?’ And I was like, what? They don’t know? My son has already been lying there for … two hours. So, I told them, ‘Yes!’”
At the hospital, x-rays revealed that Kyle had shattered his femur and needed immediate surgery. The first procedure involved inserting a metal plate and eight pins into his left thigh.
Joe Matthew, the family’s attorney, stated that he reviewed the surveillance footage of the incident, which showed Kyle left unattended for 2 hours and 15 minutes. He said, “What do they do? They leave him on the ground for two hours while they’re sitting around, talking, laughing, eating lunch, and ordering orange chicken.”
In a statement provided by Fort Bend ISD to ABC 13 Eyewitness News, the district said, “Staff members involved in this incident are no longer employed by the district. We remain committed to creating a safe and secure learning environment for every student.”
Hermann Bensurto expressed that the incident has left the family deeply distrustful of school employees and those in positions of care and leadership over their child.
Matthew said, “What are the policies and procedures? We don’t want this to happen to any other child.”
Currently, Kyle still relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Doctors have stated that he will require multiple additional surgeries in the future.
