A minor was injured during a school work program. Who's to blame is still in question
Derrik was a 16 year old student when he was given a walk-behind trenching machine to guide through through a field.
Derrik was earning school credit with the Battle Ground School District for his work off site with the construction company Rotschy.
With no training or oversight, Derrik was severely injured by the machine, eventually losing both of his legs. He survived the work accident, and is now a senior in high school.
His story highlights big questions about work based learning programs at Washington schools, and whose job it is to make sure that teens exploring the workforce are kept safe.
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Guests:
- Lizz Giordano, investigative reporter with Cascade PBS
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Sarah Leibovitz
Supervising Producer, Soundside
Sarah joined KUOW in 2019 as senior producer on The Record. She is now Supervising KUOW’s new noon time show, Soundside. Prior to working at KUOW, Sarah was lead producer at the Seattle podcast production company Larj Media, and a teaching artist with Path with Art.
More stories from Sarah Leibovitz »
