As a parent, your top priority is protecting your child from harm. You send your child to school trusting that administrators and teachers will keep them safe. However, accidents and injuries can still happen at school despite reasonable precautions, with school injuries accounting for 20% of all pediatric injuries.
If your child suffers a serious injury while in the care of school staff, you may be left wondering if it is possible to hold the school responsible by taking legal action.
Schools have a legal duty to provide adequate supervision and protect students from foreseeable dangers while in their care. However, accidents and injuries can still occur despite a school’s best efforts, and unintentional injuries among children increased by 11% between 2010 and 2019. If your child gets injured at school, you may be wondering if you can or should take legal action.
Here are some key factors to consider.
The Extent and Cause of the Injury
Falls are the most common injury sustained by children, with 8,000 kids treated for fall-related injuries every day in the US. Playgrounds are where falls are most likely to happen at school.
The severity of the injury and how it occurred will impact your ability to successfully sue the school. If your child suffers a minor injury like a scraped knee on the playground, you likely have no grounds to sue. But if they sustain a serious injury or trauma due to inadequate supervision, unsafe facilities, bullying, or negligence on the school’s part, you may have a case. The more evidence you have that the school was directly responsible, the stronger your case will be.
School Policies and Procedures
Look into the school’s policies and procedures regarding safety, supervision, training, and incident reporting. If the school violated their own policies in a way that contributed to your child’s injury, that fact can support a lawsuit; for example, if your child was hurt in an unsupervised area when school policy requires supervision.
Government Immunity Laws
Even if the school was negligent, government immunity laws may protect public schools from lawsuits in many cases. Laws vary by state, but schools are generally not considered liable for inevitable accidents. You’ll need to show gross negligence that exhibits a reckless disregard for safety.
Injuries on School Trips
Injuries during off-campus trips or activities may be more likely to warrant legal action than injuries on school grounds. This is because courts expect a higher duty of care for schools during supervised off-site activities. Again, pay attention to policies – if established protocols for trips and transportation were ignored, it can strengthen your case.
Consulting a Personal Injury Lawyer Specializing in Child Injuries
Determining if you have sufficient grounds to sue requires an objective assessment of evidence, circumstances, applicable laws, and legal precedents – areas in which lawyers specialize. A child injury lawyer can evaluate your child’s case and provide expert counsel on your options. They can also represent your family in court proceedings if moving forward with a personal injury lawsuit is advisable.
Pursuing litigation against schools is difficult, but not impossible. Working with an experienced lawyer gives you the best chance of successfully holding a negligent school accountable and getting justice for your injured child.
Leave a Reply