Teen released from hospital after leg amputation: ‘His normal smile is back’

Three months after 13-year-old Montravious Thomas was allegedly slammed to the floor five times at Edgewood Student Services Center, his attorney announced Wednesday that he’s home from an Atlanta hospital recovering from his leg amputation.

Attorney Renee Tucker, who represents Thomas, said her client was released from the Egleston Children's Hospital after receiving treatment since Sept. 12, but he will continue to visit Atlanta to receive physical therapy. She said he’s getting accustomed to life as an amputee and remembers that God is on his side.

“His normal smile is back on his face and that’s probably one of the best things to see,” Tucker said. “He looks forward to getting his prosthetic, because he wants to be able to learn to do more. It’ll put him closer to normal as he possibly can ever be again with the use of a prosthetic.”

Behavioral specialist Bryant Mosley is accused of slamming Thomas to the floor five times on Sept. 12 at the school on 3538 Forrest Road.

According to the report, the teacher told Columbus Police Lt. Consuelo Askew, who was working school security, he “had to physically restrain” Thomas “due to behavioral issues.” Thomas was enrolled in the AIM program, an alternative school for students who have violated the district’s conduct code and temporarily have been removed from their assigned school.

Tucker said the school sent Thomas home on a school bus without seeking medical treatment or notifying his mother of the incident. Valerie Fuller, director of communications for the Muscogee County School District, said the school made “multiple attempts” to contact the teen’s parent by phone after the incident.

The attorney said Wednesday morning that she plans to file a lawsuit against Mosley and the Behavioral Services clinic where he is employed before the year is over.

Before the amputation, Tucker sent the Muscogee County School District an ante litem notice “that had a number of $5 million” with plans to file a lawsuit against Mosley and the Mentoring and Behavioral Services clinic where he is employed. An ante litem notice is required when someone intends to file a lawsuit against a governmental agency.

After the Oct. 18 amputation, the attorney said that amount is expected to rise with the medical expenses alone possibly exceeding $1 million. She said Wednesday that it’s unclear how much they will seek in the lawsuit.

“You can figure that if the child is in the hospital for two months at Egleston, that bill is going to probably be in the high ($800,000) or $1 million plus,” said attorney Forest Johnson, who owns the law firm where Tucker is employed.

Tucker told the Ledger- Enquirer on Oct. 31 that the school allowed them to see but not obtain a 25-minute surveillance video of the incident. She said they have yet to see a portion of the video seen on the website All On Georgia that reportedly shows Mosley is carrying Thomas and then throwing him over his shoulder before loading him onto a school bus.

“We’ve asked to see the full video, and we’ve been told that what they showed us is all they have,” Tucker said. “I think the issue will also play out when the lawsuit is filed.”

She said they have received many of the documents they requested, including personnel information about Mosley and some school system employees, but there are still some documents they have yet to receive.

“Everything will play out once the lawsuit is filed,” Tucker said. “We expect at that point to get the other documents that we requested, or at least the school district will at least come out and say they have these documents or they don’t.”

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Teen released from hospital after leg amputation: ‘His normal smile is back’."