WHAT ARE SCHOOLS LIABLE FOR WHEN INJURIES OCCUR?? HELP!!?!
Question: WHAT ARE SCHOOLS LIABLE FOR WHEN INJURIES OCCUR.?.? HELP!!.?
What is a school liable for when it comes to injuries not sport related.?
My sister is a girly girl. Not into sports or anything like that. She is in band though. On a Friday a little over and hour before the game the band had to be there. Not 15 minutes went by when she calls me crying saying I have to go pick her up because she got hurt. When we went to pick her up three students were at her aid and the band director was still directing! No other adult was in sight. What had happened was that the girls were changing into their band uniforms in the restroom(stuff is taped in there and the doors don't close right but that isn't the story) My sister was in a stall where the door doesn''t fit so it cannot close or lock. The stall next to hers was a handicapped stall where another girl was changing. The girl next to her walked out of the handicapped stall and since the door to that one was half off the hinge the door COMPLETELY falls off, knocks open my sister's door, and lands right on her bare foot!!!! She is helped by some girls out onto a chair and they notify the band director. The director asks her if she has someone to call and since she can't walk helps her onto a rolling chair and rolls her to a phone. That's it!! The students and I are the only ones that end up helping her to the car. One of the girl students even said that they had already told the teacher about the restroom needing maintanance. She said they had just changed one of the main lights a week ago when it has been out since school started.(This was the band hall restroom, the only one they were allowed to go to when in band.) Well as we were about to leave a teacher and athletic trainer came to give her a look. He said that maybe we should go get it looked at. Duh, her foot was huge and dark purple. She couldn't even walk on it. I took her to the emergency room and her foot is fractured!! It just so happens we have no insurance and the school does not want to pay or even help pay. What do we do.?.?.?.?.?.?!!!!!.?.?.?
Health Question & Answer
My sister is a girly girl. Not into sports or anything like that. She is in band though. On a Friday a little over and hour before the game the band had to be there. Not 15 minutes went by when she calls me crying saying I have to go pick her up because she got hurt. When we went to pick her up three students were at her aid and the band director was still directing! No other adult was in sight. What had happened was that the girls were changing into their band uniforms in the restroom(stuff is taped in there and the doors don't close right but that isn't the story) My sister was in a stall where the door doesn''t fit so it cannot close or lock. The stall next to hers was a handicapped stall where another girl was changing. The girl next to her walked out of the handicapped stall and since the door to that one was half off the hinge the door COMPLETELY falls off, knocks open my sister's door, and lands right on her bare foot!!!! She is helped by some girls out onto a chair and they notify the band director. The director asks her if she has someone to call and since she can't walk helps her onto a rolling chair and rolls her to a phone. That's it!! The students and I are the only ones that end up helping her to the car. One of the girl students even said that they had already told the teacher about the restroom needing maintanance. She said they had just changed one of the main lights a week ago when it has been out since school started.(This was the band hall restroom, the only one they were allowed to go to when in band.) Well as we were about to leave a teacher and athletic trainer came to give her a look. He said that maybe we should go get it looked at. Duh, her foot was huge and dark purple. She couldn't even walk on it. I took her to the emergency room and her foot is fractured!! It just so happens we have no insurance and the school does not want to pay or even help pay. What do we do.?.?.?.?.?.?!!!!!.?.?.?
Health Question & Answer
Answers:
Take lots of pictures - of where it happened, your sister's foot, and the bills and make copies. Take these copies to the Prinicipal. Tell him that schools have a right to protect students from injuries and by not either fixing the bathroom or closing it, they could be found liable for injury AND pain and suffering. If he laughs, or tells you they won't pay, go to: 1) The school district, 2) the attorney general for your state, and 3) a local news agency with all this info. If this does not work, hire a lawyer.Health Question & Answer
Get the names of the witnesses.
Go get photos of the rest room.
Preserve the evidence.
Wrote up the documentation.
Beyond that I could not tell you.Health Question & Answer
Go get photos of the rest room.
Preserve the evidence.
Wrote up the documentation.
Beyond that I could not tell you.Health Question & Answer
You need the advice of an attorney specializing in injuries and familiar with the laws in your area. Often a consultation over the phone may be obtained at no charge.Health Question & Answer
take a picture of her foot go to the school take pictures of the door the bathroom etc get students to witness in court
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Good question, I would like to know the end result of this one! Call a lawyer. Health Question & Answer
sue the school.?Health Question & Answer
yeah!Health Question & Answer
u would prob win a sue if the kids said the door was messd up befor it hapndHealth Question & Answer
You can file a civil suit for pain and suffering if you can prove negligence on the school, meaning they knew the door was a potential hazard and willfully did nothing to rectify the potential hazard. If you do go ahead with a civil suit, find a lawyer that works strictly on commission, meaning he or she will take a percentage of the settlement. If the lawyer wants money up front, find a new lawyer. The school is at least liable for medical bills since it was a university activity she was attending while injured. If you seek more money, say for pain and suffering, you will need to file the civil suit I mentioned earlier. Universities don't like court cases or bad press, so they would most likely want to offer a cash settlement before it ever reaches court. Good luck. Health Question & Answer
You should go to the district office and tell them you want to file a "Claim against the District". They will tell you what you need to do. The school district has insurance to pay for this.
If a student has an accident, normally the only time the school would be liable would be in the case of negligence, since accidents happen! The school would be negligent in this case since the door was in disrepair.
I don't know what state you live in, this is how it works in California.Health Question & Answer
If a student has an accident, normally the only time the school would be liable would be in the case of negligence, since accidents happen! The school would be negligent in this case since the door was in disrepair.
I don't know what state you live in, this is how it works in California.Health Question & Answer
I would think with something like that, the school would be responsible. But you would have to take them to court, and sometimes, parents sign a waiver saying they won't sue their kids school for any injury incurred, and it would probably be cheaper to pay the medical bill rather than try to hire a lawyer. Most definitely go to the next PTA meeting and bring this up though, and take pics of the foot and have copies of the discharge papers.Health Question & Answer
Sheesh, what kind of a crap school does she GO to, anyway.?.?.?
They definitely should have taken her to the nurse. And they should pay any medical bills. But if I were you and if you like the school for the most part, I wouldn't consider suing for more because schools just don't get enough money as it is and struggle so much. SO don't punish the school. But definitely make sure that they know what SHOULD have been done and that they turn it into "policy" so that no one else is neglected like that.
As for the conductor conducting -- while on top of everything else that seems insensitive, it's really not that insane -- Don't get me wrong, your sister should have been taken to the nurse, but maybe the nurse wasn't in.? Give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she did report the broken door but the school just hoped nothing would happen because they couldn't afford to fix it.....? Anyway, since it's more constructive to help the other kids with the lesson rather than stand over your sister saying "does it hurt.?" she might as well have continued with the lesson believing as she must have that your sister wasn't in danger. So even though it was annoying, I wouldn't pursue that one.
Good luck and hope her foot is feeling better!!!Health Question & Answer
They definitely should have taken her to the nurse. And they should pay any medical bills. But if I were you and if you like the school for the most part, I wouldn't consider suing for more because schools just don't get enough money as it is and struggle so much. SO don't punish the school. But definitely make sure that they know what SHOULD have been done and that they turn it into "policy" so that no one else is neglected like that.
As for the conductor conducting -- while on top of everything else that seems insensitive, it's really not that insane -- Don't get me wrong, your sister should have been taken to the nurse, but maybe the nurse wasn't in.? Give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she did report the broken door but the school just hoped nothing would happen because they couldn't afford to fix it.....? Anyway, since it's more constructive to help the other kids with the lesson rather than stand over your sister saying "does it hurt.?" she might as well have continued with the lesson believing as she must have that your sister wasn't in danger. So even though it was annoying, I wouldn't pursue that one.
Good luck and hope her foot is feeling better!!!Health Question & Answer