The tragic death of seventeen-year-old Taylor Goodridge in December 2022 serves as a grievous reminder that students’ health should always be taken seriously. Despite her severe stomach pains, Diamond Ranch Academy officials disregarding believed she was “faking” it for weeks – only to discover later on that the teen had sepsis and passed away from it just days before Christmas. Had school staff attended to her complaints with promptness, Goodridge’s life could have been saved; instead, her family must now live without their beloved daughter due to distressing negligence.
On Saturday morning, the family of Taylor was devastated to hear that she had passed away. In light of her death, they are pursuing justice and demanding accountability from the school for ignoring her symptoms. They strongly believe that a more serious approach should have been taken toward their daughter’s health concerns.
“They allowed a child to suffer needlessly for nearly two weeks when she could have been saved,” Dean Goodridge, Taylor’s father said.
The family of Taylor has taken legal action against the Diamond Ranch Academy for their failure to secure her safety and well-being. The lawsuit proclaims that despite her “long-term suffering from stomach pain and other symptoms,” the academy failed to take reasonable measures that could potentially have saved Taylor’s life.
Despite their silence, the school’s staff has conveyed deep sorrow over Taylor’s passing and forwarded heartfelt condolences to her family.
The Goodridge family is determined to seek justice for Taylor, and they are devoted to ensuring that no other families have to suffer through a similar tragedy.
In the wake of his daughter’s untimely death at a Utah boarding school, Dean Goodridge swiftly took legal action against the academy. Consequently, this tragedy has resulted in administrative probation imposed by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
As his daughter was deteriorating, the school staff refused to believe her cries of pain and suffering. Instead, they suggested she take aspirin and drink plenty of water in an effort to ignore what was happening – tragically underestimating that a life-threatening infection had taken hold within her body. Eventually, the severity of this condition revealed itself as the teen collapsed into unconsciousness with vomit surrounding her distended stomach.
Sadly, sepsis was the cause of her eventual death.
The Goodridge family has established the Taylor Memorial Foundation in their daughter’s memory, to support other families who have suffered similar losses and are striving for justice. Despite the tragedy that befell them, they hope that something good will come of it – by preventing future infections-related fatalities – through Taylor’s death. While her official cause of passing still remains undisclosed, maybe this foundation can make a difference in countless lives going forward.
On December 20, 2022, Taylor collapsed for the last time as medics arrived. Despite their efforts to revive her, she had already passed away and was declared dead.
Alan Mortensen, a highly skilled lawyer, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the grieving father of the victim.
“Here is that this young teenager is sent down to Utah from the state of Washington to try and help her get her life back in order,” stated Mortensen. “And before they know it, she’s died from what we believe will ultimately prove out to be sepsis. And with no explanation.”
