When parents send their kids to school each day, they trust that they will be properly supervised and cared for by the adults they encounter, from teachers to school bus drivers. Unfortunately, accidents occurring during the school day or after school activities are incredibly common–and many are serious. Accidents on playgrounds, during < a href="https://www.1800nowhurt.com/how-to-prevent-childrens-sports-injuries/">sports practice, and even in classrooms happen all too often, but these cases are often complicated and it can be hard for parents to determine who is liable. If your child has experienced a school injury, it’s important to consider whether someone else is at fault.
A personal injury attorney serving New York can help you understand your rights and whether or not you have a case. Keep reading to learn more about common injuries and factors in liability, or contact Buttafuoco & Associates at 1-800-NOW-HURT for a free consultation.
Slips and Falls
In general, slips and falls are common in public places, which makes them a frequent cause of school injuries. Slips in icy parking lots or on recently-mopped bathroom floors, falls from tall playground equipment, or trips on the stairs can cause sprains, broken bones, concussions, and other serious injuries. Depending on the cause of the slip or fall, the school or a particular employee may be liable. For example, if your child slipped because a spilled drink on the cafeteria floor wasn’t cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time, the school or its staff could be found negligent.
If the slip that caused the injury happened on the playground, there could be multiple at-fault parties, depending on the specific circumstances. If a swing or other piece of equipment broke or was defective, the manufacturer might be liable. If your child was harmed during a game of kickball or a sports event that wasn’t properly supervised or refereed, the school itself could be responsible. Sometimes multiple parties may be found liable.
As you can see, these cases can be complicated. The main questions a lawyer will consider after a school injury are:
- Did the slip or fall directly cause the injury?
- Was the injury due to an outside party’s carelessness or negligence?
- Who was the negligent party/parties?
If you are unsure whether or not the school or another party is responsible for your child’s injury, working with a New York personal injury attorney can be helpful in making this determination.
School Bus Accidents
As you can imagine, a wide variety of serious injuries can occur when a school bus crashes, because a driver acted recklessly behind the wheel, or even due to a malfunction of the bus itself.
If another car hits a school bus and your child sustains injuries because of it, that driver may be responsible. If the school bus driver is distracted while driving or causes a crash, it could be their fault. In other cases, the school district itself could be considered liable–for example, if they hired an unqualified driver or one with a poor driving record, or if they failed to provide proper training to the driver.
In still other cases, if the injury is caused by a manufacturing defect–such as insufficient brakes or windshield wipers that fail to operate during a storm–the bus manufacturer could be considered negligent. Again, an attorney will consider whether one or more parties acted negligently and caused the injury.
Food Poisoning
School cafeterias can be incredibly dangerous, especially if employees fail to maintain sanitary conditions or don’t properly store food to keep it fresh and free of pathogens. Sometimes, food manufacturers themselves are responsible for a student’s illness, such as when a food is recalled because of contamination.
In 2024, New York and New Jersey schools were implicated when a listeria outbreak resulted in a recall of potentially contaminated foods served by school cafeterias. In 2017, inspections found serious health code violations at schools in Brooklyn and Queens. Again, while we would like to trust that schools do everything they can to keep our kids safe, this is unfortunately not always the case.
Classroom Accidents
Classrooms are full of potential hazards: from toxic substances in a science or art classroom to dangerous materials such as wired glass, classroom pets that could harbor disease, and more. There are nearly endless potential opportunities for injury even in classrooms that appear safe.
Wired glass is among the least safe and most common materials found in schools. In recent years, the Portland Public School district was found negligent by a jury for failing to replace a wired glass door panel, which seriously injured a student when they crashed through it.
Similar to other types of school injuries, the possibilities in terms of liability are numerous. To determine whether you have a case, you may require assistance from a personal injury attorney serving New York.
Intentional Harm
Bullying and child abuse are obvious examples of injuries that occur due to intentionality–whether on the part of a student or an employee. If a child is abused by a teacher or other supervisory figure, that person as well as the school and potentially the school district could be responsible. Did the school fail to conduct a background check before hiring the abusive staff member, or fail to fire the employee even after there were warning signs that they could be a danger? If so, the school itself–not simply the abuser–could be found guilty of negligence.
Cases of bullying, which are exceedingly common in schools, can be even more challenging in terms of finding fault. The child’s parents or the school could potentially be responsible, but working with an attorney is key to receiving compensation for your child’s medical bills and other injury-related expenses.
Lawsuits Against Private vs Public Schools
If your child attends a private school, you can file a lawsuit as you would against any other private entity. However, each state has specific rules for lawsuits against public schools. In the state of New York, you must file a Notice of Claim within 60 days of the incident. A notice of claim is a document describing the events that caused your child’s injuries, how the school’s negligence played a part, and how much compensation you are seeking. (This usually includes compensation for current and future medical treatments, and potentially mental anguish, pain and suffering, or other expenses directly related to the injury.) This paperwork may prompt an investigation, or in some cases the school district may deny your claim. If the claim is denied or there is no response within the legally allowable time frame, you can file a lawsuit in court.
It can be immensely useful to work with an attorney if you plan to sue the district or the school. The amount of evidence, knowledge, and legal interpretation required to successfully win a court case against a government entity can be substantial.
If you need assistance from a personal injury attorney, Buttafuoco & Associates may be able to help.
Call 1-800-NOW-HURT.