Download Our Free Personal Injury Guide
Proper, comprehensive, and high-quality schooling can serve as a pathway to success, and all loving parents want their children to have the best educational opportunities possible. Despite the flaws in the U.S. public education system, we expect that our children will learn to think critically, expand their knowledge bases, and develop social skills in a safe space, five days a week for nine and a half months of the year. However, no school is completely safe, and child injuries at school can happen. A child can scrape an elbow during a game of kickball, or he or she could sprain an ankle while attempting a sauté in ballet class. Some of these injuries may appear to be mere bad luck, but in some cases, the school itself might be responsible. Could a slippery floor have caused the fall? Was the activity taking place in an improper facility? Did the teacher or instructor take precautions? Were other students involved in the injury? Many of these questions may have no clear-cut answers, but if you suspect that your child’s school played a role in her or his injury, make sure that you bear in mind these three essential facts before you take action.
The Circumstances of the Injury Are Typically More Important Than Its Severity.
If your child comes home from school with an injury, it is important to know what happened and exactly how your child was hurt. If the injury occurred during a regular school activity, it is likely to have been the result of certain risks to which all children are subject. A child being hit by a ball during gym class is significantly different than a teacher bringing a dangerous and improperly contained animal to the school. The mechanism of in jury is essential, and a case can stem from whether the school failed to respond appropriately.
Time Is of the Essence in Filing a Claim for Child Injuries at School.
If you are likely to be making a claim against the school, certain time constraints must be met. You will need to put the school on notice properly, usually within 90 days of the occurrence. The sooner that you consult an attorney, the more easily that your attorney can protect your right to pursue a potential claim against the school.
Liability Can Form the Basis of Your Case.
Schools are not ensurers of our children’s absolute safety; from time to time during the school day, child injuries at school do happen when participating in everyday activities. However, there may also be facts in a case that would require the school to take additional steps for safety. For instance, if a teacher planned on bringing a dangerous animal to school and your child were to get injured, the liability may be on the part of the school. If the school failed to take proper steps to protect students from a known dangerous condition on the property, this could also give rise to liability on the part of the school if your child were injured.
Because most parents work full-time or several part-time jobs to support their families, they want their children to be safe when the parents are at work. While schools will usually strive to maintain safe facilities, there is always the risk of an accident occurring. If the injury was preventable, though, and the school’s negligence allowed the injury to ensue, the school is legally responsible. If your child was injured to her or his school’s oversight, our office of personal injury attorneys can guide you through the process of filing a claim against the school to seek damages.