Sending a child off to school is one of the most scary times in a parent’s life. We essentially must put their well-being in the hands of teachers and administrators we don’t know, hoping they will be safe. When we get a call that they’ve fallen off of monkey bars and broken a bone, or slipped in the hallway and hit their head, it’s easy to wonder if someone wasn’t doing their job.

Does Premises Liability Apply at Schools?

Schools are subject to premises liability, just like any public place. The general explanation of premises liability is this: Property owners have a legal obligation to keep people safe while on their premises. If conditions arise that put someone at risk and a person becomes injured, the property owner can be considered liable for the injury. For a general premises liability case to be valid, it must contain three basic elements:

• The person injured was expected to be on the property (not trespassing)
• The person or establishment being sued must have control of or be managing the property where the injury occurred
• The responsible party must have somehow been negligent by knowing of a danger and failing to take steps to prevent injury

When there is an accident at a school, two of the boxes are automatically checked because the child was supposed to be at school, and the school was open and in operation. However, in order to check the last box, it must be proven that the school knew about a hazard and did nothing to fix it. 

There are also a couple of other things to consider: the incident must have happened during school hours and not at an after-hours event, such as a sports game; and the school or its employees must have acted “recklessly,” with either intention to cause harm or indifference to the safety of the student.

Examples of Accidents That Could Result in a School’s Liability

While rules to sue a school for negligence are not black and white, there are a few examples that might help to understand when a negligence claim may be possible. 

A Slip and Fall at School. Let’s say a water fountain has been leaking for days and maintenance received an order but did not fix it. If a child slips and falls in the wet hallway and gets a head injury, the school can be found liable.  

Faulty Playground Equipment. Kids fall on the playground all the time, and it doesn’t always justify a school liability lawsuit. But if a monkey bar is loose and a child plummets to the ground and breaks a leg, an investigation should be made to determine if the school was aware of the faulty monkey bar. If they weren’t, the school might avoid liability. However, the manufacturer of the playground equipment could be to blame, in which case parents can file a product liability lawsuit.    

A Child Gets Hurt in a Fight. While at school, kids should be supervised at all times. Say a fight breaks out on the soccer field during P.E. With no adult around to break it up, attorneys could argue that there was negligence and indifference to the safety of the students. The school may be found liable. 

While the above are all potential situations, there have been plenty of actual school liability lawsuits in New Mexico that were successful for the victims and their families.

In 2017, a student at Del Norte High School in Albuquerque sued the school district after a heavy concrete bench she was sitting on fell right out from under her. When she tried to catch it, it fell on her fingers, resulting in injuries that required surgery and left her hand disfigured. Her parents sued the school district and received a substantial settlement.

In 2022 at Volcano Vista High School, a chemistry teacher brought swords to school and had students square off in a duel. One pupil was badly hurt, suffering deep lacerations across her hand and wrist. Even after multiple surgeries and physical therapy, basic tasks such as pressing buttons and cooking are challenging due to lingering pain and permanent nerve damage. She successfully sued the school.

How to Sue a School for Negligence

Schools are owned by the government, so lawsuits against them can be complicated. The Local Government and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act protects public entities and public employees from liability while working for or running a governmental institution. So, schools and their staff do have immunity from some lawsuits, but the Act excludes almost all claims for personal injury. 

Unlike a car accident where a victim first deals with an insurance company, an injury that happens at school involves contacting school administrators directly. If you do have a valid claim, you must:

1. First file a notice of claim with the school board within 90 days of the incident. This notifies the government of the accident and gives the school board an opportunity to pay the amount you are seeking before the case goes any further.
2. If the school district does not pay the amount indicated in the notice of claim, then the claim must be presented to the superintendent.
3. If your claim is denied, you can then file a civil lawsuit against the school district.

Proving School Liability Requires an Attorney Who Knows Tort Law

When a child gets injured at school, emotions for parents run high. Medical bills pile up quickly, and having to take time off of work to care for the child means less money to pay them. Kane Personal Injury attorneys are passionate about seeking justice for kids, and we want to help ease your financial burden by getting the compensation you deserve. 

Whether your child was hurt in a slip and fall at school or involved in another type of school accident, we can walk you through how to sue a school for negligence. It doesn’t cost anything for us to evaluate your case, and you won’t pay anything unless we win your settlement. Contact us today to get starte