Seneca R-7 District to pay $11,000 to child injured when window fell out of press box

Documents filed today in Newton County Circuit Court indicate the Seneca R-7 School District has reached an agreement to pay $11,000 to cover medical expenses 16-year-old Sarah Hoover, who was injured when a window pane fell out of the press box at the football field.

The district does not admit to any wrongdoing in connection with the accident, which occurred April 17.

The settlement, if approved by the judge, calls for the school district to pay $3,393 to Mercy Hospital of Joplin, $105 to Pediatric Associates of Southwestern Missouri, $418 to Seneca Family Medicine/Freeman Physician Group, and $3,916 for outstanding medical bills.

The remainder of the settlement, $7,084, will be paid to Hoover's mother, Stephanie Sinclair, a paraprofessional who works for the school district, to buy a car so Hoover can drive to and from school and work.

The motion to approve the settlement says Hoover was not represented by an attorney.