When we send our children to school for the day, it is with the expectation that they’ll be safe from harm. However, injuries at school are all too common.
There are many causes of these injuries, but the two most common ones cited are “falls (43 percent) and sports activities (34 percent).” Thankfully, the majority of these child injuries are minor.
However, when these school injuries are more severe, it’s only natural to want to know who’s responsible and who’s going to pay the medical bill. That being said, determining liability for injuries that happen at school can be very difficult, and pursuing a case against the school harder still.
Schools have a responsibility to provide a safe learning environment to children. As such, they are expected to provide reasonable protection measures against injury, remove significant injury risks, and supervise students in place of their parents at school.
It is often automatically assumed that the school holds liability for any student injuries that occur on school grounds during school hours or when the school is hosting a special event.
However, this isn’t always the case. The liability for your child’s school injury can be influenced by numerous factors, including:
Public schools operated by the State of Florida and their officials are protected from direct lawsuits by sovereign immunity. The good news is that there are some exceptions to Florida’s sovereign immunity because of Florida Statute 768.28. This law waives Florida’s sovereign immunity in certain cases—but with some limitations.
These limitations to the sovereign immunity waiver can make it exceedingly difficult to pursue a case against your child’s school district.
First, you have to file a claim with the State of Florida within 6 months of the incident, with an exact dollar amount for the claim (not to exceed $200,000). Then, if the claim is rejected or the amount of payment offered in compensation is less than what was demanded, you can file a lawsuit with the State’s Finance Department.
Basically, you have to try to get the State to agree to let you bill them for the cost of your child’s injuries. Only after an initial rejection of your claim can you move forward with a lawsuit/appeal.
The time limit for filing a claim can be especially troublesome, as some injuries may take more than 6 months for your child to fully recover or finish their treatment regimen. This means you may not have all of the medical billing records you need to establish the full extent your claim.
So, if your child has been injured at school and you’re considering legal action, I personally urge you to seek legal advice as soon as possible. There are a lot of protections that make conducting a liability case against your child’s school district difficult. You shouldn’t have to take them on alone.