When Your Child is Injured at School, What Can You Do?

It’s back to school season, and many parents are finally breathing a sigh of relief as their children get back into the rhythm of learning, socializing, and growing. While school is supposed to be a safe place, back to school unfortunately can mean something else: school injuries. An estimated 2.2 million students will be injured at school each year, meaning the odds are good that your child will be one of them. If your child is injured at school or on school property, what can you do?

The good news is that you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the school or school district, depending on the circumstances of your case, for their failure to care for your child, including situations where they do not provide appropriate supervision or do not react as they should to a certain kind of dangerous situation. Additionally, sometimes school facilities are poorly maintained, and in these kinds of situations you may also be able to sue.

Can I Sue for Bullying?

School bullying has gotten significant attention in recent years due to the traumatic and sometimes deadly impact it has had upon young students. Unfortunately, bullying is an incredibly common source of injuries to students across the country. Bullies can inflict physical, mental, and emotional harm upon your child, and if the school is aware that this is occurring and fails to take any sort of action to stop or mitigate bullying, your child can suffer tremendously. You may be able to hold the school liable for injuries your child suffers at the hands of bullies, including any medical bills, as well as potentially expelling the bullying student.

Can I Sue for Dangerous Facilities?

Education funding is not what it should be in many areas of the country. Even when schools do have funding, they do not necessarily direct it towards the needs like ensuring that facilities are safe. Risks like damaged floors with sharp edges, wet floors not labeled properly as such, and falls down stairs are very easily preventable—making the serious injuries children suffer because of these hazards all the more unfortunate. When schools do not take the care necessary to prevent these kinds of accidents from occurring, you can sue under premises liability and negligence theories to cover pain and suffering, medical bills and other expenses.

What if My Child Was Hurt by School Equipment?

Most schools provide children with a range of toys, supplies, and athletic equipment that can unfortunately put them at risk. When your child is harmed by a product they used at school, you may be able to bring a products liability claim demonstrating that the manufacturer either knew that the product was not as safely designed as it could be, or that the product was designed safely, but manufactured incorrectly.

Was Your Child Injured at School?

At Scaffidi & Associates, we know that school is supposed to be a safe, nurturing space for your child—not a place where they get hurt. If your child was injured while at school, we can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.

Posted in: Personal Injury Law