A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student who fell asleep in class says he suffered substantial hearing loss when his math teacher smacked her palm down on his desk to wake him up while she was teaching.

Now his parents are planning to sue Danbury High School, the Connecticut Board of Education and the city of Danbury on his behalf.

Vinicios Robacher's father, Soel Robacher, claims that his sleepy son's left ear was resting on his desk on Dec. 4 when math teacher Melissa Nadeau slammed her hand down so hard that his eardrum burst. Robacher says his son experienced an almost complete loss of hearing.

Since then, though some of his hearing has been restored, the boy has been through extensive medical treatments with ear, nose and throat specialists and could require surgery to fully rectify the damage, according to documents obtained by FOXNews.com.

The Robachers' lawyer said the complaint filed with the city last month isn't a lawsuit but a warning that a claim is being investigated and a suit could follow.

"We don't have all the facts," said attorney Alan Barry of Alan Barry & Associates. "The facts that we don't have are a complete analysis of the medical condition. There is no question in our mind about what happened and the damage to this child's hearing."

Barry said he wants to know Nadeau's teaching history and is prepared to fight to gain access to her personnel records.

Danbury High School Principal Catherine Richard and Nadeau weren't available for comment, and all media inquiries were referred to schools Superintendent Sal Pascarella, who didn't immediately return calls.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said he wasn't qualified to speak about the matter because, under Connecticut law, it is solely under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education.

"I don't have any knowledge of it. I don't have any comment," Boughton said. "It's really up to the Board of Ed to handle."

The Robachers declined requests for an interview, referring all questions to their lawyer. To date, they have refused to allow their son to speak to the press.

Barry said the boy's ear hurt instantly after Nadeau hit his desk.

"He woke up and immediately felt pain in his ear," Barry said. "I think he was so taken aback that he didn't say anything at the time."

The next day, Vinicios' parents took him to the hospital after he complained of hearing loss and they discovered a bloody fluid on his pillow.

Not surprisingly, the case has drawn its share of ridicule and bad publicity, and the Robachers' lawyer said students have been teasing Vinicios at school. Though the parents are undeterred in their aim to pursue the matter legally, they're considering transferring their son to a private school, Barry said.

"There has been a certain amount of negative backlash for making this claim," he said. "I fully expected it and I really understand that. What's a little bit disturbing is the fact that nobody's saying if you fall asleep in class, it's OK for your hearing to be damaged."

Barry filed the documents with the Danbury City Clerk on Feb. 25.

He said he is getting no compensation for representing the Robachers and will get paid only if a lawsuit is filed and won. He'll get one-third of the amount of a settlement or damages, he said.

I doubt a 16 year old. Maybe a cracked out asian college student.

That's really not the point. Its not out of the question for a teacher to wake a kid up, but his unorthodox methods injured the kid, therefore he/she is liable/responsible for the kid's injuries.

"We don't have all the facts," said attorney Alan Barry of Alan Barry & Associates. "The facts that we don't have are a complete analysis of the medical condition. There is no question in our mind about what happened and the damage to this child's hearing."

Ive had shit slammed hard against my ear, and my eardrum is fine.

The kid probably got embarrassed and got his pride hurt, cried to mommy and daddy, and instead of his parents doing the right thing and bitch slappping him for wasting their tax dollars they decided to sue the teacher. Yeah, the kid probably had bad hearing for awhile. And probably will. I've been to rock concerts and it takes me 3~4 days for the ringing to stop in my ears completely.

The fact that the kid has been to SEVERAL ear, nose, and throat doctors should tell you something along with this:



Going in half cocked to ruin a teacher because parents won't find their children at fault and lawyers who are looking for limelight.

Yeah. Fuck that kid. I hope he does lose his hearing permanently.



And you're going to ask the question: "What i it was your kid?"

Well for starters I'd ask WHY THE FUCK WAS HE/SHE SLEEPING IN SCHOOL. Then we'd go to the doctor. And I would call the principal and superintendent about the drastic action the teacher took. But I'm not going to parade the issue in front of national television and hire a lawyer who's only doing this for PR and the end result being the ruination of a teacher and little money. Money won't change my child's hearing (well, hearing aid maybe), but a nice reprimand on a teachers record will do wonders.

The teacher's name is Melissa, does this change your "class bully" theory?

This stupid ass kid fell asleep in class. The teacher decided that rather than stop TEACHING the rest of the kids who stayed awake like they were supposed to, she walked by and smacked his desk. Boo fucking hoo. He shouldn't have been sleeping.

The studies that showed that school starts too early also showed that kids go to bed too late. Don't always blame the school, blame the fucking parents who cant put their foot down and send the kid to bed at a decent time. Maybe blame network TV for being too damn interesting.

Also, if in fact there is damage, the kid and his lawyer have to PROVE that it was the actions of the teacher that caused the damage. They have to be able to prove that the kid didn't get in a fight on the way home and catch a fist to the ear or that he wasn't blaring his iPod directly into his ears at max volume. The burden of proof lies on them, and there is no way beyond all doubt that they can prove this. At the very least any lawyer should be able to raise enough doubt to end that suit quickly.

I actually had teachers that something similar, only they would just drop a textbook next to your desk.

Every class in my highschool had dry erase boards. One teacher would throw erasers and sometimes if you were a repeat offender, he'd throw the markers at you...

i had a substitute spanish teacher, Mr Barkson, who threw one of those markers at me because he THOUGHT i was asleep. actually, i was just reading the textbook and had my head down and closer to the book because i had forgotten to wear my glasses.

both of us had really shit timing, as i look up just as he lets fly.

dry-erase marker in the eyeball = my knee in his nuts. five times.

i walked out of the class and he never came back to our school.

With a name like Barkson, he shouldn't have been teaching anyway. Its just a matter of time before students wear him down until he breaks.