Can A School Be Held Liable for My Child’s Injuries?

According to the CDC, 9.2 million children suffer from non-fatal injuries each year. Of those injuries, approximately one-quarter of them occur in or around a school. If your child has been injured at school or during a school related activity, you may be feeling angry with the school and wondering why the teacher or other school personnel were not watching your child more closely. Some parents go so far as to wonder whether or not they can sue the school for injuries sustained at school.

While we understand your frustration, suing a school for a child’s injuries is difficult to do, as schools – along with all other governmental agencies – are protected under sovereign immunity, which means that they cannot be sued except under special circumstances. If your child was injured at school, and if you feel that the school was either responsible for the injury or could have prevented it, contact The Pendas Law Firm. Our West Palm Beach personal injury lawyers can evaluate the circumstances of your child’s injuries and give you an accurate assessment of the strength of your case.

Determining Liability

In order to sue the school for your child’s injuries, you need to be able to prove that the school or one of its employees was liable. An intentional tort – a purposeful act that results in a personal injury – may be easier to prove than an act of negligence. For instance, if your child was bullied and physically harmed by another child, not only may the parents of the other child be held liable, but also, the school may be held liable for its failure to stop the bullying and preventing the injury.

Additionally, if an adult employee purposefully harmed your child, the school district can be sued for failing to conduct a proper background check of the offending employee, or for failing to provide adequate training or supervision.

If the act was not intentional, you may still be able to sue the school on grounds of negligence. Negligence is more difficult to prove, but it can be done.

A child’s school is required to provide the same protections to the child as a parent: shelter, food, transportation, and a safe environment. If the school fails to meet the accepted standards of care in providing those protections, and the child is injured as a result, the school can be held liable for negligence. Negligence might stem from the poor design and/or maintenance of a school vehicle, defective playground equipment, improperly prepared or stored school food, poorly maintained school grounds, exposure to hazardous substances such as asbestos and mold, or lack of supervision, to name just a few causes.

Contact a West Palm Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

At The Pendas Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers can help you determine whether or not your child’s school is liable for your child’s injury. For a thorough evaluation of your case, contact our West Palm Beach law firm at 1-844-200-0000 or schedule a consultation online.

The Pendas Law Firm also serves clients in the Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona, Bradenton, and Fort Myers areas.

Resources:

cdc.gov/safechild/child_injury_data.html

scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1111&context=facpub