Parents want their children to receive a decent education and avoid harm when they attend school. However, many schoolchildren are often injured while at school. When a child is injured at school, is there an adequate remedy? Who is responsible? Those are the kinds of questions experienced education defense attorneys will answer. Here are some items to consider before filing a lawsuit against a school.
take care of the child first
It will be difficult for education defense attorneys, as well as the court, to assess the potential harm until the course of the injury is complete. A doctor will finally release a student seeking medical treatment for an injury. At this point, all medical bills must be recorded. Medical bills will become the basis of the claim even if they have not been paid. If there is ongoing prescribed treatment, such as physical therapy, then those costs may also be taken into account. Those medical records help the lawsuit move forward.
government immunity
The schools are the responsibility of the local municipalities as far as legal issues are concerned. The target school experiencing a lawsuit may have immunity from certain types of injuries sustained by students while on school grounds. Education defense attorneys will know immediately if the nature of a particular injury would warrant further legal action.
Note that any government immunity would only apply to public schools. A private school has a different set of standards regarding neglect.
A matter of negligence
With lawsuits involving schools, the central issue becomes one of oversight. Was there adequate supervision for the child at the time of the injury? For example, if a teacher leaves the classroom to make a personal phone call, then he is not supervising his students.
The other potential negligence issue concerns taking reasonable steps to prevent an accident from occurring. A perfect example of neglect would be the physical aspect of the school. A student could trip on peeling tiles or a slippery floor due to a plumbing leak. If the school was aware of the situation and did not take immediate action to correct the problem, then it may be negligent.
solving the case
Oftentimes, defense attorneys for education may recommend settling with the school district. A claim may be filed against the particular school’s insurance company, but only if it is preferable for the school district to resolve the matter without lengthy court proceedings. This is especially true if the only issue at stake is reimbursement for medical expenses.
It is important to settle the claim within the statute of limitations. No one wants to see their child injured at school. When an accident occurs, a quick and effective remedy is found. That way, a student’s education will no longer be interrupted.