Who Is to Blame When Your Child Is Injured at School?

August 9, 2017

Some may argue that the most vulnerable a parent ever feels is when the day comes to send their child to school. Many parents spend every day with their child, controlling what he eats, drinks, and plays with. Suddenly, this day comes and you must take your child to the school and leave him under the responsibility of other adults for hours every day.

You are leaving your most precious thing in the world under the responsibility of others, so you should be promised that your child will be safe throughout the day and returned to you in the same condition that you left him. That’s why it is simply tragic if your child is injured under the care of those you were supposed to trust, and you could very well be entitled to compensation for it.

What To Know Before You Sue

It is important to note that unlike the process of suing a company, you will likely need to follow a different legal procedure to sue a public school or university. Unlike a private school or a person, when you go after a school, you are going after a government entity. Because of this, you will most likely be required to file a claim with either the district, city, or state. This will usually involve filling out a form so that you might be able to sue in federal or state court. Once this step is done, it may months before you have the okay to proceed with the lawsuit.

It is important to secure a lawyer at the beginning of the process so that she can help to guide you through the whole system.

Who Is to Blame?

Once the lawsuit goes through, it is important that you can clearly establish who deserves blame in the injury. Every case is different, and different people may be to blame for your specific case. There may be multiple entities you can place blame on, including:

A Teacher or Staff Member

As mentioned before, you are being extremely vulnerable when leaving your child in the care of another, and it is a teacher’s responsibility to watch over your child while he is in her care. A teacher can be held responsible for your child’s injuries if she failed to properly supervise the children or even encouraged dangerous behavior among the students.

The School or School District

Many times, if you can hold the teacher responsible for the injuries, you can also extend the case to include the actual school or school district in the same way that you can hold a business responsible for its employees.

It can be argued that the teachers were not trained well enough, and the lack of training caused the injury. It can also be argued that the school’s safety policies are not effective. The school can also be held responsible if the injury was caused by faulty maintenance, such as structural hazards on the playground.

Other Students

Bullying is becoming more and more prevalent in schools, and many times these bullies can cause serious physical and emotional damage. If you child is intentionally harassed or injured by another student, you may have grounds to sue his parents in regard to their child’s behavior causing injury to your own child.

If you entrusted your child to the school system and he experienced physical or emotional injury because of someone’s neglect, you could be entitled to compensation. Call Hensley Legal Group today for a free consultation, or contact us online. We want to help you get what you deserve.