On Sept. 14, 2015, Yesenia Montebello, 6, a first-grade student who suffers from Hurler syndrome, a debilitating, congenital, neurological condition that also causes orthopedic complications, fell from a play structure at Shannon Elementary School, in Pinole. Yesenia sustained a fracture to her left hip. Yesenia’s parents, Lidia Montebello Gomez and Wilman Moreno, acting as Yesenia’s guardian ad litem, sued the operator of the elementary school, the West Contra Costa Unified School District. They alleged that the school district failed to properly supervise Yesenia. Yesenia had received treatment at Oakland Children’s Hospital — primarily from her treating gastroenterologist, an internationally renowned pediatric gastroenterologist and expert on Hurler syndrome — since she was 2 years old. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that, given Yesenia’s Hurler syndrome and risk of severe injury from falls, the hospital had notified the school district — prior to Yesenia’s enrollment — that Yesenia should not be allowed on tall play structures. However, during Yesenia’s second year at the school, the district’s staff allegedly failed to communicate Yesenia’s limitation to the school’s aides/playground supervisors. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that as a result, Yesenia was allowed upon a tall play structure and suffered a fall, resulting in a hip fracture. Counsel also contended that, because of Yesenia’s physical and cognitive impairment as a result of her Hurler syndrome, Yesenia had an individualized education plan, which, among other things, called for Yesenia to have one-on-one supervision during recess time on the playground, which she did not have on the subject date., Yesenia suffered a transverse, comminuted fracture of her left greater and lesser trochanter, which is a tubercle of the femur near its joint with the hip bone. She was taken to a hospital, where she underwent open reduction with internal fixation. She then followed up with physical therapy. The fracture healed without complication, and a physical therapy note, approximately nine months post-incident, documented Yesenia as ambulating 300 feet on her own. On Dec. 27, 2016, Yesenia underwent surgery to remove the hardware in order to allow her femur to grow as she physically matured. She did not have any orthopedic complications associated with the surgery, but she did not regain ability to ambulate without touch assistance. Yesenia claimed her hip injury made her non-ambulatory five years prematurely. She also claimed the injury reduced her life expectancy by five years. The plaintiff’s treating pediatric gastroenterologist supported Yesenia’s claims. Yesenia’s parents had health insurance through Medi-Cal, which paid approximately $60,000 for the two surgeries and their daughter’s care related to the incident. Although Yesenia’s parents’ wrongful death claim was not yet ripe, the school district would not entertain a settlement unless Yesenia’s parents waived and released any prospective wrongful death claim. However, plaintiff’s counsel asserted that the school district had to “buy” the future prospective wrongful death claim to resolve the case. Yesenia’s parents also stated that they intended to seek leave to file an amended complaint to recover attorney fees for the violations of Yesenia’s rights as a disabled student. However, the school district’s counsel asserted that such an amendment was barred by omission in a Government Code claim and the controlling Supreme Court precedent.