Can You Sue Your Child’s School for Injury in Nassau County, NY
When you send your kids to school, you hope that they will be safe. Now more than ever, parents fear for their children being bullied, harassed, or even shot at school. These and other safety concerns can become real for many families, leaving parents seeking to hold someone responsible.
In some cases, you can indeed sue your child’s school for injuries. However, it will always be a very fact-sensitive issue, and you should have a lawyer review your case to determine whether a lawsuit is available. Injuries caused by unsafe conditions in the school, injuries from negligent supervision, and injuries from bullying can often be grounds for a lawsuit. Negligent security lawsuits are sometimes available as well.
Call the Nassau County personal injury lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 for a free case review if your child was injured at school.
Suing for Injuries During Recess, on the Playground, and in Gym in Nassau County
Accidental injuries during playtime activities and gym class can sometimes be quite severe. In many cases, accidents are accidents, and families will not be able to sue for true accidents. However, some accidents only happen because of negligent supervision during these activities. In those cases, our Garden City, NY personal injury lawyers might be able to initiate a lawsuit.
If your child was supposed to be under the supervision of teachers or other staff members during recess, during a field trip, in gym class, during sporting events, or during field day events, then that teacher or staff member has a duty to make their supervision reasonable. “Reasonable” is a legal standard that is thrown around a lot, and it essentially means what an average person in the same situation (with the same background and training) would do.
So an average teacher watching children on the playground at recess might see kids climbing on the monkey bars and not intervene because that is a pretty average activity, and kids do that all the time. If a child falls off and breaks their wrist, that might just be an unfortunate accident. However, if the child was standing on top of the monkey bars screaming, “I’m gonna jump!” then it would be likely that a reasonable teacher would tell them to get down to prevent injury. Failing to do so – or failing to otherwise supervise students properly – might constitute negligence that can lead to a lawsuit.
Similar standards would apply in situations like a game getting out of control in gym class or other unreasonable activities.
Suing Schools for Premises Liability and Slip and Falls in Nassau County
Property owners and operators owe guests to the property a reasonable level of safety. If the property owner allowed a dangerous spill or an unsafe stairwell to injure a guest, then they might be held liable. The same is true in schools.
Facilities management and maintenance offices are there to keep the school safe, but when they are underfunded or understaffed, known dangers can linger. For example, a school could be alerted to a leaking roof making a puddle on the floor or a handrail that is broken on a staircase. Failing to repair known hazards can lead to the school being liable for resulting injuries.
In many cases, you will have to prove that the school knew about the danger or should have known about it, so getting logs of reports will be important.
Suing Schools for Bus Accidents in Nassau County
Depending on whether the buses are operated by a private company, by the county itself, or by the school district, you might not be able to sue the school itself for a bus accident. Additionally, many bus accidents are caused by other drivers; the bus driver will have done nothing wrong to cause the crash. Nonetheless, there is usually someone who can be held responsible for a bus crash.
In many cases, you can sue the driver directly, but their employer can also be held liable. The company that owns the buses or the school district itself might also be liable for maintenance issues if that is what caused the crash. If someone else hit the school bus your child was riding on, you would sue that driver instead of the school in many cases.
Suing for Bullying and School Shootings in Nassau County
Suing for bullying and violence in schools is often complex. In many cases, the school stands as the responsible party. They are responsible for what gets in and out of the school and should screen for weapons. The school is also responsible for stopping known bullying and threats to keep children they know to be in danger from being harmed further. Sometimes the facts of what happened show that the school was indeed responsible for the injuries that happened, but in other cases, the school did everything it could.
In cases where bullying or threats are reported and the school fails to act, they might be liable for further foreseeable injuries. Schools might also be responsible for weapons on the premises if they have procedures in place to search bags and screen for weapons but failed to properly implement those policies. Additionally, schools could be in trouble if they failed to have a plan in place for how to deal with a shooter, and that unpreparedness led to further injuries or death.
However, schools are often absolved of any responsibility by courts due to sovereign immunity laws and findings that police and schools surprisingly have no duty to intervene or to protect children. Our lawyers will have to investigate the particular facts of your child’s bullying or on-campus violence to determine whether a lawsuit can be successful in your case.
Call Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Nassau County, NY Today
If your child was hurt at school, call (718) 841-0083 for a free case review with the New York City personal injury attorneys at The Carrion Law Firm.