Are Schools Liable for Student Injuries?

When a child is injured at school, it's not always clear who (if anyone) might be legally responsible. Certain accidents are unavoidable, but some injuries on school grounds are due to unsafe conditions or the action (or inaction) of school officials, staff, or even other students.

Student Injuries Caused by Dangerous Conditions

A school’s responsibility for unsafe property conditions is based on a legal theory known as "premises liability."

School officials have the responsibility to maintain a safe environment for students, since the officials act in loco parentis, which is just a fancy way of saying "in the place of parents," when children are in their care at school. School officials have the responsibility to prevent foreseeable dangers from harming students. Dangerous conditions on school premises may include:

• faulty playground equipment
• slippery floors
• unsanitary conditions, and
• the presence of lead or other toxic materials.

The Importance of Foreseeability

Cases involving injuries on school grounds often turn on whether or not the injury was foreseeable. Negligence on the part of the school is most apparent in cases where the school knew of a specific danger but failed to take proper precautionary measures. For example, if a child is injured on a play structure, and it becomes clear that even cursory inspection of the structure would have revealed a defect or danger, the school would likely be on the legal hook for the child's injuries. Learn more about foreseeability and liability for injury.

School Liability for Negligent Supervision

Under personal injury law, teachers and other school officials owe a special duty of care to the students in their charge. As part of that duty, school officials must take reasonable steps to keep students safe from harm. The failure to do this could amount to "negligent supervision," if a student ends up getting hurt as a result.

At the minimum, this responsibility includes hiring enough staff to properly supervise the students on the premises. But all school district employees (administration, faculty, facilities personnel) have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect students and ensure their safety.

Negligent Hiring and Student Safety

Schools must use appropriate care and conduct adequate background checks when hiring teachers, coaches, and other staff. A school could be civilly liable for the sexual abuse of a student if the school knew (or should have known under the circumstances) that the offending school employee had a history of inappropriate conduct.

Are Schools Liable for Bullying?

The issue of bullying and injuries caused by fellow students is a bit murkier. But typically, a school may be on the legal hook for harm caused by bullying if:

• the administration had notice of a dangerous situation
• they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, and
• a student ended up being harmed as a result.

A few key issues here include whether the bullying took place on campus (or within the school's zone of control), and whether the school has an antibullying policy in place.

In California, for example, public school districts must usually adopt policies that prohibit bullying and harassment conduct, have in place a system for reporting incidents of bullying, lay out specific procedures for investigating incidents, and make antibullying/antiharassment resources available to students.

Are Schools Liable for Injuries That Occur Outside School Hours?

A school generally won't be liable for injuries that occur on school property outside school hours or outside school-sponsored events. For example, if on a Saturday morning a girl pushes a boy off the top of a school playground slide and the boy is injured, the school probably won't be liable. It had no responsibility to supervise children on the playground on Saturday morning if it wasn't sponsoring an event there at that time. This is especially true if efforts were made to keep people off school property during non-school hours (fencing and locked gates, for example).

Can You Sue a Public School District for Injury?

A lawsuit against a private school won't run up against this issue, but if you're trying to hold a public school, public school district, or public school employee or official liable for a student's injuries, you're going to need to jump through special procedural hurdles.

That's because as government agencies, public school districts typically have immunity from liability for certain kinds of alleged harm. That immunity has been conditionally waived as long as injury claimants follow a strict set of rules for:

• notifying the government of the claim
• providing details about the underlying incident
• spelling out the amount of compensation being sought, and
• doing all this within a statutorily-mandated time period.

Failure to follow the rules can result in loss of your right to get compensation for injuries and other damages.

If you get your "notice of claim" filed properly, depending on the law in your state, you'll only be able to file a lawsuit in court against the school district if:

• your claim is officially denied, or
• a certain amount of time has passed with no response from the district/government.

If you're considering bringing an injury case involving an incident at a public school, it's probably a good idea to discuss your situation (and your options) with an experienced lawyer. Get more details on:

• filing an injury claim against a city or state, and
• getting a lawyer's help with an injury claim against the government.