Children are at greater risk of becoming injured than adults are. There are many reasons for this. For example, children are still growing, and their bodies aren’t as strong as those of adults. Further, children are more likely to take risks that adults wouldn’t, and they tend to play harder. They are also more likely to be the victims of animal attacks and intentional harm from other children or even adults. While children are more at risk of injury than adults, this does not constitute an excuse for injuries that occur at school. Rather, it constitutes a good reason to ensure that schools are safe environments that minimize those risks of injury and prevent any injuries from occurring. If your child has been injured at school, you may need to take action. Today, we’ll discuss the different common causes of injuries that occur at school and when and how you can take action to recover compensation for those injuries.
What Kinds of Injuries Most Commonly Occur to Children in School?
There are plenty of causes of injuries to school children, though the most common scenarios involve negligence on the part of the staff at the school, predatory actions on the part of the staff at school, a lack of supervision that results in unsafe behavior, and premises liability issues.
When the staff at your child’s school act in ways that are predatory by intentionally harming children, this is a very serious situation and prompt action needs to be taken. However, the school can be held responsible for accidents, too, as well as for the actions of children who intentionally or carelessly cause injuries to other children.
Because the school is required to provide a safe environment, with safe and vigilant staff members, your child’s injury could very well be compensated through a personal injury claim against the school. Call Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers to learn more about your options.
What Exactly is the Responsibility of Your Child’s School Concerning Safety?
South Carolina law states that schools are governed by ‘loco parentis,’ which literally means ‘in place of parents,’ and in practice, means that the school takes on the parental responsibilities when the children are there and can be held accountable for injuries. The school is legally required to keep your children safe, with a safe and well maintained environment and responsible and positive adults to teach and supervise them.
When the school fails in this responsibility, they can be held liable for any injuries that occur. Having said that, the school will not be held liable in all school injury cases. It has to be established that the school or the staff of the school were negligent, and that this is what caused or allowed the injury to occur. You will need a South Carolina child injury lawyer to investigate and evaluate the situation to determine if the school can be held liable.
As with any personal injury claim, you must establish that the liable party had a duty of care to uphold, that they breached that duty of care, and that an accident and injuries resulted from this breach of duty. When it comes to school, they have a duty of care to your children, as expressed in the concept of ‘loco parentis.’
To determine whether this duty has been breached, we have to look at the concept and standard of the ‘prudent teacher.’ This refers to the responsibility held by the teachers at the school to behave prudently, or reasonably, to prevent injuries from occurring. If the teacher failed to behave prudently, then they have breached their duty of care to your child. If this breach of duty caused an injury, then the school could be liable for that injury.
Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers Can Help You to Prove Negligence and Damages
If you suspect that your child’s injuries were intentional or could have been prevented by the diligent and prudent behavior of the staff at his or her school, then you need to contact a dedicated South Carolina personal injury lawyer at Jeffcoat Injury and Car Accident Lawyers to schedule a free consultation. We will investigate your claim and look at the evidence to determine who was liable in your child’s injury. Call today to learn more.
