A tragedy that could’ve been averted? The family of a retired Philadelphia elementary school teacher who died after a rotting wooden pole fell on her and killed her have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school district.
According to court papers, Paula Siegel Budin, 73, was killed in an alleged freak accident after a 45-foot wooden utility pole, which had continued to deteriorate over a decade, snapped at its base and fell on top of the educator along school grounds at the Roxborough High School’s athletic complex.
The tragedy happened during the morning hours of Dec. 5, 2024, according to court papers cited by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Wooden pole freak accident death
The grounds are generally open to the public, with the educator fatally struck while she walked along school grounds.
When a passerby found Budin, she was bleeding and unresponsive, with paramedics unable to revive her, according to the lawsuit filed by the victim’s family.
The former teacher died of blunt force trauma injuries, the lawsuit filed on Friday stated.
Budin’s family claimed the Philadelphia School District and the Parsons Corporation — which was hired to assess the district’s facilities — failed to maintain or inspect the rotting pole.
The visible signs of decay were noticeable as far back as 2014, court papers allege.
‘Despite this actual and/or constructive knowledge and their appreciation of that risk of catastrophic harm, the district did not take corrective action nor did it warn students or members of the community of the risk of catastrophic harm,’ the family’s attorneys said.
Four poles — including the one that snapped — had been used to hold lighting and security cameras that were positioned along the school’s athletic complex.
Wrong place, wrong time
The school district eventually removed the three remaining poles following Budin’s death Of note, a subsequent investigation by the district’s lawyers and experts found the poles had not been inspected before the educator was killed, the outlet reported.
Siegel’s lawyers argued that the base of the pole was located close to a storm drain and runoff water caused it to deteriorate. They alleged that the pole was ‘almost completely rotted’ where it snapped.
‘There were no inspection tags anywhere on the subject pole indicated that the pole had never been inspected and therefore not properly maintained by the School District of Philadelphia,’ the lawsuit alleges.
‘The School District of Philadelphia knew or should have known of the dangerous condition of the subject pole as there were visible signs of its decay as far back as 2014,’ the lawsuit further alleges.
Negligence and wrongful death cited
The lawsuit also places blame on Parsons Corporation, which inspected Roxborough High and the track in 2015 and issued a 79-page review two years later. However, Parsons allegedly repeatedly failed to inspect the subject poles.
The district and Parsons are both accused of one count of negligence and one count of wrongful death.
Budin enjoyed an active lifestyle as a retiree and previously worked as a teacher at the Germantown Academy and the Community Partnership School according to an obituary and her Linkedin profile.
She was close to her loved ones — two sisters, two nephews and a niece — before her tragic death, according to The Inquirer.
Budin’s family is now seeking financial damages from the school district and the Parsons Corporation for the alleged negligence. The sums demanded have not been revealed.
