In an Opinion and Order released July 30, Judge Joel Slomsky of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled there is enough evidence for an unusual "dry" or "secondary" drowning case at Liberty HS to be heard by a jury. This case, filed against both Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) and Liberty physical education teacher Carlton Rodgers, follows the 2010 death of 15-year-old Juanya Spady, a sophomore who had recently transferred to the school. A non-swimmer, he died shortly after a swimming class.

The lawsuit was filed by Allentown attorneys Rick Orloski and Steve Ameche on behalf of Mica Spoady, Juanya's mother.

At this time of year, children sometimes encounter difficulties in local pools. But after they are rescued, about two percent of them are still at risk of drowning. It's called delayed or dry drowning. It happens when someone, while thrashing in the water, swallows large amounts of water. This can cause air passages to spasm and the lungs to fill up with fluid, suffocating the victim.

That's what some medical experts believe happened to Juanya Spady about an hour after he was out of the school pool. Bethlehem School District attorneys dispute this, calling the death an unexplained seizure or heart failure. Judge Slomsky has opted to ask a jury to make the call in a case he calls "undeniably tragic."

Spady attended a physical education class in which swimming was the activity of the day. He was told to go with the other non-swimmers to the shallow end of the pool while Rodgers instructed the rest on swimming moves from a deck. Because grades depend on class participation, Spady decided to do some "gutter grabbing," i.e. make his way around the perimeter of the pool by using his hands to keep him afloat. Occasionally, he'd let go, sink to the bottom and bounce back up.

His fun ended when he bumped into a group of swimmers and lost his grip. He was down a long time, but finally made his way back to the surface. Spady told Rodgers he was feeling ill, and was told to take a break. Rodgers recalls telling Spady to go to the nurse or sit out the remainder of the class. Some students contradict this, saying that Spady was ordered back into the pool. Others testified that Rodgers graded students on class participation. They also noticed that, after the "gutter grabbing" incident, Spady was not himself.

After swimming, Spady went to English class. But 10 minutes in, his head hit the desk behind him and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. A pink, frothy substance began coming from his nose and mouth. His teacher sent students to get help, and a nurse and police officer arrived a few minutes later. CPR was tried; mouth to mouth. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was used. Oxygen was administered; no pulse. Though he was administered a total of 17 shocks, he died.

Dr. Isadore Mihalikis, who performed the autopsy, called it an unexplained seizure. But forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht concluded Spady's death was a case of dry drowning caused by a toxic reaction to the swimming pool chlorine. In addition to the pink and frothy discharge, Wecht noted a high glucose level and epinephrine, which accompanies such delayed drownings.

Dr. Alison Osinski, an aquatics expert, agrees. She also adds that it was negligent for the school district to enroll Spady in a swim class without any regard to his skill level, comparing it to forcing a student to take calculus without first going through pre-algebra. She said the teacher should have been in swimming gear and the student lifeguard on hand should not have been lying on the bleachers. Finally, she advises there should have been a "buddy system" in place, and that non-swimmers should be equipped with floatation devices.

Bethlehem School District Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy, denied that Spady died as a result of delayed drowning, said, "[t]here are two pathologists who did not find that to be the case, and one who did."

He said the district will continue to defend the case, but declined further comment.