Who Is Responsible If My Child is Hurt at School?
If your child suffered an injury while under the supervision of school personnel, there are several factors that come into play regarding liability. A school-yard injury may be the result of a fall on the playground, or a fight between classmates. Your first response should be to seek medical attention for your child, discussing the incident beforehand and then asking your medical physician to ask for the story again, to discern whether he or she thinks it is cause for concern as far as bullying or any form of abuse. Speak with the school about what happened, as well.
Once you have determined whether the incident was a normal school yard accident or not, you can decide if you need to seek legal counsel. Abuse, negligence, or faulty school equipment all warrant compensation for your child’s injuries and the medical care that is required. Our team of personal injury attorneys at Eliot Reiner, APLC can help you to figure out what questions to ask and determine the process by which to seek settlement. Our goal is to help you win the compensation you need to cover your child’s injuries and get him or her back out on the playground.
School Yard Injuries: What Can Happen
Throughout history, schools have been known as a safe place, but that does not mean that accidents are not going to happen. Many accidents are unavoidable, but, in some cases, negligence plays a part, or another student is at fault.
Negligence at school may look like:
- Negligence on the part of the school bus driver including inadequate training, dangerous driving, improper procedures, or vehicle malfunction due to maintenance issues
- Negligence on the playground due to inadequate staffing or defective playground equipment
- Negligence during preparation or action during or after natural disasters
- Negligence by the food service staff (with hand washing or food safety)
- Negligence by coaches resulting in preventable sports injuries (either by other students or faulty equipment)
- Negligence of after-school staff for supervision
Intentional acts may include:
- Bullying or fighting resulting in serious injury
- Injury from a teacher or school staff member (physical discipline)
Let’s Discuss What Happened in a Free Consultation.
When your child is hurt, you want answers. You deserve to know what happened, who is at fault, and what you can do about it. Let our team of Sacramento personal injury attorneys help you seek the compensation needed to cover your time off work, your child’s medical expenses and the pain and suffering from the injury. There is a certain amount of expected care for your child when at school and when that care is neglected, someone must be held accountable. Our team can help make sure that the school is responsible for the things that happen during the school day. Request your free consultation and we can get started sorting out the details of your child’s injury and find out where the missing link is in the school’s care.
Contact our firm for a free consultation at (916) 778-3228.