Yes, schools can be held liable for injuries sustained by students and/or visitors, but it is important to understand that not every mishap is grounds for a lawsuit. In order to have a successful personal injury lawsuit, you must be able to establish all of the requisite elements of a claim.

Common claims against schools or day care centers include Negligent Supervision or Premises Liability claims.

Negligent supervision is when someone who has a legal responsibility to supervise others fails to do so in a responsible manner. This can include a wide range of supervisors including teachers, recess monitors, bus monitors, daycare providers, camp counselors, or coaches. Negligent supervision can involve any number of dangerous scenarios. Schools can be found liable for failing to keep children safe from an assault by another student, traffic, pools, dangerous chemicals, and much more.

Proving negligent supervision involves proving many of the same elements of a typical negligence claim. First, the plaintiff must prove that the person or organization accepted the responsibility to supervise a child. Given that students spend so much time at school, schools are often considered to be in loco parentis, a Latin phrase meaning “in the place of a parent”. By virtue of this, schools and daycare centers are considered to have accepted the responsibility to supervise and keep a child safe.

Next, a plaintiff must prove that the teacher or supervisor failed to properly monitor the child. Based on many factors such as the age of a child or nature of the activity, a reasonable person would expect different levels of supervision. Proving this element requires establishing the reasonable standard of supervision, then showing how the teacher or monitor in question failed to meet that standard. Once this is established, the plaintiff must prove that the injury sustained was foreseeable and a direct result of this lack of supervision. In other words, the plaintiff must be able to show that a reasonable caregiver could have seen the incident coming and prevented it from happening.

Property owners and managers have a duty to provide a reasonably safe environment for those who visit their premises such as students, parents, or other visitors. When a safety hazard or dangerous condition develops, a property owner has a duty to provide a warning until the hazard can be remedied or repaired. If a school has knowledge, or should have knowledge, of a dangerous condition which could cause injury but fails to fix the condition or make it otherwise safe, the school may be legally liable if a student were to get hurt because of that condition.

Examples of potentially dangerous conditions include wet floors, broken tiles or flooring, broken windows, poor lighting in stairwells or hallways, broken or dangerous playground equipment, or ice on walkways.

When filing a lawsuit for injuries suffered by a child, a parent or legal guardian typically brings the case on behalf of the child. A parent may also have a claim for aspects of their child’s injury that have affected them, for example the cost of medical care, or loss of the child’s services at home. A parent may also have their own claim if they were to be injured as a result of the examples of the dangerous conditions set forth above.

Public schools and their employees are considered municipal entities which means special provisions must be followed even before starting a formal lawsuit or your child’s potential claim is at risk for being lost forever. The General Municipal Law requires that within 90 days of accrual of a claim, i.e. when the accident happened, the school must be served with a “Notice of Claim”. A Notice of Claim provides some information to the municipal entity so that it has the ability to investigate what happened and collect evidence in a timely manner. The parents then must wait 30 days after the Notice of Claim has been served on the school to file a lawsuit in Court. The statute of limitations to commence a lawsuit is 1 year and 90 days from when the accident occurred.

Children under the age of 18 are given the benefit of a toll to the statute of limitations until he or she reaches the age of 18. This means that once the notice of claim is provided, the 1 year and 90-day time limit does not commence until the child turns 18. Tolling means to pause. This does not mean that a claim cannot be brought sooner, it just means that it does not have to be. A lawsuit can always be commenced during the tolling period. Any claims that belong to the parent, as noted above, are not given the benefit of this toll and must be commenced within 1 year and 90 days of the incident or they may be lost forever.

Yes, in some circumstances a case can be settled before a formal lawsuit is filed. Factors that are considered when a school negligence lawyer is trying to negotiate a settlement include the strength of the liability (i.e. the ability to legally prove that the school or employee is responsible) and the severity of the injuries. Settlements often occur when the responsibility for the injuries is clear and the injuries suffered are fully known and understood.

The length of time from the incident to the time of settlement or verdict depends on many facts. These factors include the injuries and extent of treatment, the number of defendants, the type of insurance coverage, the nature of the conduct that caused the injury, and whether a settlement can be reached or the case needs to proceed to trial. More information about how long a personal injury case takes, can be found here.

Settlements involving children under the age of 18 have an additional step which adds to the length of a case. In New York, settlements made on behalf of a child must be brought before a court by way of an “Infant Compromise” proceeding. An infant compromise proceeding requires that your school injury attorney submit documents to a Judge describing the nature of the case, the resolution of the matter, how the settlement proceeds will be handled to ensure the money is protected on behalf of the child until they become of age, and that the settlement is fair. The Judge’s role in reviewing the matter is to ensure the child is protected.

Compensation in a civil case is meant to provide monetary compensation to make the injured individual whole. The value of a case depends on several factors including the strength of liability, the significance of the injuries, and the amount of out of pocket losses suffered. An injury that requires surgery or results in a permanent limitation or disability increases the value of a case whereas an injury for which no surgery is necessary and results in a smooth recovery would have a lower value. The out of pocket expenses incurred for such things as medical expenses, is also an important factor in determining the full value of a claim.

As with any case, evidence is crucial. Photos of injuries when they occur and heal over time are often much more effective in explaining injuries to a jury than talking or writing about those same injuries. Photos of a dangerous condition or object that caused an injury are also crucial. Medical records are essential in understanding the extent of an injury. Documentation of concerns in writing before an incident occurs can be very important in a case. It is always best to document communications in writing but if a phone call or in person conversation does occur, following up with an email regarding your understanding is a simple way to then write down what was discussed.