What Do I Do if My Child is Injured at School?
When you send your son or daughter off to school in New York City, you have an expectation that they will be well cared for and will return home safe and sound at the end of the day. Unfortunately, many children are injured at school every day, with up to four million children and teenagers across the country suffering injuries while at school.
Even though the school can’t insure that nothing ever happens to your child, there are injuries that occur at school due to negligence by the school administration or even the student’s teacher. These are the sorts of injuries that could have been avoided entirely with proper care and oversight.
These types of school liability injuries may include a wide array of situations, including:
- School bus injuries
- School playground injuries
- Mold or other environmental toxins in buildings
- Teacher’s improperly supervising the students
- Sexual abuse
- Physical education or gym injuries
- School district negligence
- And more
Typically, most lawsuits are brought against the school system where your child is a student, including New York City, which means there is a strict statute of limitations in place and that time is of the essence when seeking compensation for your child’s injuries at school. In the case of public schools, you must file a claim with a government administrative agency within 90 days of your child’s injuries, or the claim may be dismissed outright.
If your son or daughter was injured at a New York City private school, you would proceed by filing a civil lawsuit just as you would with an injury at any other property or business.
The fact is, schools have a responsibility to maintain a safe environment, just like any other property owner. This means that they have an obligation to ensure not just that the building is well-maintained, but that external areas like a playground are also kept in a good state of repair and are safe for children to use.
If your child was to slip and fall due to leaky roofs that caused wet and slippery floors, or if they were injured on the playground due to broken or poorly maintained equipment, the school may be held liable for those injuries.
If your child is injured at school due to roughhousing, fights, or bullying, the school may be held liable if staff failed to intervene, because schools have a duty to hire enough staff to reasonably supervise the students and prevent these sorts of injuries. The school must care for your child “in loco parentis” or in place of a parent. In some cases, when bullying or intentional acts cause injury to a child, the parents of the child who caused those injuries may be held liable as well.
Likewise, school districts are also responsible for ensuring that staff and teachers are properly screened before hiring to ensure that dangerous adults are not interacting with or put in charge of children.
School injuries can and do occur in many different ways and for a variety of different reasons, but the most important thing is to speak to a school injury lawyer in New York City as soon as possible. Our team of experienced lawyers at Greenberg & Stein can help you if your child has been injured at a New York City school, whether private or public, for any of the reasons mentioned above.
While every school injury case is unique, you can be assured that our dedicated team will explore every legal option available in order to ensure that your family receives a fair and just compensation for your child’s injuries.
We offer a free consultation and a 24-hour phone line, so don’t hesitate to call us following your child’s injury or accident at school. Call us today at 888-411-3966 to schedule your free legal consultation.