School Security and Injuries at School

The White Plains accident attorneys at Worby Vecchio Edelman are well experienced representing clients injured due to a school’s failure to provide proper security.  Sadly, students suffer injuries as a result of bullying, or other types of assault while at school.  Cases of this nature involve a fairly complex area of the law; for that reason, it is important to retain an attorney with sufficient knowledge to properly represent you.  The question of whether the case will be successful or not very much depends upon the exact facts of a situation, and how those facts are presented.

When is the School Responsible for an Injury

The law requires that a school take reasonable steps to protect the safety of its students.  At the same time, however, a school is not required to guarantee that safety.  This means that the school is not necessarily at fault for every type of injury sustained by its students.  As one example, if a student assaults another student without the school having prior knowledge of bad behavior by that student, the school probably has a strong argument that it was not at fault or responsible for any injuries sustained.  If, however, the school was aware – or should have been aware – of a history of prior assaults by that student, its argument is much weaker.  The exact facts of any situation are crucial in determining what the school knew, what it should have known, and the records that it keeps in the process. The White Plains accident attorneys at Worby Vecchio Edelman have handled many of these cases in the past, and are familiar with the arguments that a school district might raise in its defense.

The law recognizes a difference between injuries sustained as a result of a spontaneous assault by a student with no prior history of bad acts, and an assault by a student with a known record of bullying.  A school’s defense will be stronger if it can show that it had no reason to be aware that an assault would occur.  The exact facts to support these arguments are crucial in determining the final outcome of the case. 

Injuries Sustained at School

Injuries sustained at school are not always the result of intentional conduct; injuries can also occur as a result of a lack of supervision, or defective equipment.  The key to a successful lack of supervision case is to prove that that lack of supervision actually caused the accident to occur.  If, for example, a school is able to prove that additional supervision would not have prevented the accident from occurring, it is likely to be successful in defending the case.

Injuries Outside of School

Injuries that occur outside of the immediate school premises are more complicated.  Generally speaking, a school’s responsibility for the supervision of its students ends when the student leaves the premises.  However, there are exceptions to that rule.  A school may or not be at fault for an assault that occurs on a school bus, depending on the level of supervision provided, whether the offending student had committed prior similar acts, and whether the school knew or should have known of that history.

Students can also suffer injuries on a school bus that result from simple negligence, such as improper stopping, or other negligent acts by the school bus driver.  Some schools own and operate their own buses, while others contract with private companies to supply transportation.  The question of who owns and operates the school bus is a critical component of this type of case, since a Notice of Claim has to be served against a School District within 90 days as a precondition to suing that School District.  The issues in this type of case are rarely simple.

Our Firm Has the Experience to Handle Your Case

The White Plains accident attorneys at Worby Vecchio Edelman have decades of experience in representing people injuries in all types of accidents.  School districts and their attorneys and insurers are well-versed in this area of the law; you owe it to your child to retain an attorney with prior experience in handling this type of case.  We understand that communication with our clients is the key to a successful relationship.  We have the resources to retain the proper expert witnesses to fully investigate your case, and the respect of the insurance defense industry.  Call us at (914) 686-3700 if you have been injured in any type of accident.  We’ll listen to you, and answer all of your questions.  We’ll tell you if we think you have a case, or if you don’t have a case.  We work on a contingency fee basis, so there is never a fee unless we are successful.