The parents of a St. Croix Educational Complex student who was injured last year when an industrial ceiling fan fell during class sued the V.I. Education Department, the territory’s government and the contractor who installed the fan.
According to a lawsuit filed in V.I. Superior Court this week, the student and his family suffered a personal injury, disfigurement, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and medical expenses, and they are seeking compensation “for his serious, severe, disabling and permanent injuries.”
Images of the student’s injury circulated widely on social media at the time and sparked widespread outrage and even protests over the condition of the territory’s public schools. The following week, the Education Department said it had suspended K&J Services, the contractor who had installed the fans, from future work with VIDE. In their complaint, the student’s family claimed that K&J “installed the industrial ceiling fan contrary to the industry standards” and that they “were not licensed and authorized to perform the work that they were contracted to perform” for the Education Department.
The family further claimed that the Education Department “negligently” failed to vet the contractor and that it “recklessly compounded its due diligence failure by failing to properly supervise and inspect the work being done to install the industrial ceiling fans.”
Though all 17 of the ceiling fans K&J installed throughout the St. Croix Educational Complex were removed, maintenance issues have persisted in many of the territory’s schools. Complex — along with St. Croix Central High School and the Career and Technical Education Center — began the 2025-2026 school year with an altered schedule due to incomplete air conditioning work. The John H. Woodson Junior High School opened weeks later while contractors completed roof repairs and mold remediation.
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