Parents File Lawsuit After Of Kids Sickened By Carbon Monoxide At Prussing School

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Parents at Prussing Elementary want someone to pay for making their kids sick during a carbon monoxide scare and now there's a lawsuit.

CBS 2's Audrina Bigos is live at the Northwest Side school with more on why the parents are taking action.

Several parents say their children are still suffering from carbon monoxide exposure four days after the leak here at the school. Out of fear of long-term effects, they've lawyered up.

"When I see ambulance after ambulance and you say all the kids are ok, they are not ok," said parent Fida Abuhattab.

Her son Omar Sholy was inside.

"I was very dizzy, I needed the wall for support to walk," he said. "I think the school should have done a better job."

His parents and their new lawyer agree.

"These children were in that environment for possibly close to two hours," said attorney Gordon Johnson Jr.

A faulty valve in the boiler caused large amounts of carbon monoxide to leak. To make matters worse, the nearest CO detector wasn't working.

Eva Diaz says she wanted to seek legal help, "When my daughter kept telling me that she has headaches."

"My kids still have symptoms today," said Abuhattab. "They have stomach aches. My daughter she cries."

They say the only option they had was to sue.

"They need something to make up for what happened to them," said Johnson. "Fairness says the school district should pay for that."

And for fear of permanent damage.

"I don't know what's going to happen down the line," said Abuhattab. "Maybe it can affect them more, maybe it will damage something."

CPS has 45 days to respond to the lawsuit.

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