Key Takeaways

• Various expert witnesses can help when navigating sexual harassment cases in boarding and prep schools. 
• The role of expert witnesses involves analyzing evidence, offering objective insights, and testifying on various factors, including the duty of care, breach of standards, validity of claims, and school liability.
• Engaging qualified experts and preparing them effectively is essential to strengthen your case.

Given their in loco parentis responsibilities, boarding schools are held to a higher standard in supervising and protecting students. When a sexual harassment incident occurs, the case presents many complexities that need careful analysis. Understanding these intricacies is key to delivering compelling evidence or disqualifying the opposition’s testimony.

Qualified, well-prepared harassment expert witnesses, with their specialized knowledge and extensive experience, can provide objective, actionable insights and determine case outcomes. This blog further examines the role of expert witnesses in prep school and boarding school sexual harassment cases.

Types of Expert Witnesses in Sexual Harassment Cases

Various experts can help fill the gaps between the incident, the school’s responsibility, and how harassment affected a student. Medical and psychological experts can validate and quantify physical, emotional, mental, and social harm. In contrast, education law and administration expert witnesses help establish duty of care, school policies and procedures, breach of standards, the effect of harassment on a student’s education, and liability. The role of expert witnesses is wide-ranging, and the absence of an expert can weaken your entire argument.

Why Expert Witnesses are Important

A qualified, well-prepared expert witness lends more credence to a harassment case. They can review and analyze evidence and provide objective, actionable insights that strengthen a case. Experts help prepare comprehensive reports and offer reliable testimony during deposition and trial. Without them, the court may be unable to comprehend the technical facts of a case, such as the specific standard of care required to prevent sexual harassment in boarding schools and prep schools. The role of expert witnesses is to utilize their specialized knowledge and extensive experience and offer unbiased, credible opinions that bring clarity to a case, maintain the litigation’s integrity, and reinforce the plaintiff’s or defendant’s argument.

Let’s explore some specific ways expert witnesses help in sexual harassment cases.

Establishing School Responsibility

Establishing liability hinges on reliably understanding boarding and prep schools’ legal and ethical obligations in protecting students from harassment. Title IX mandates that schools address sexual harassment through effective policies, proper investigations, support for the victim, and potential disciplinary action for the offender. When a boarding or prep school sexual harassment case involves a student with a disability, many other standards and nuances come into play, including disability discrimination laws.

The role of expert witnesses is to offer in-depth insights into the state and federal laws, the professional standard of care, and other guidelines that schools must follow to anticipate, prevent, report, investigate, and remedy sexual harassment.

Defining Sexual Harassment and the Validity of Claims

There are many forms of sexual harassment, including verbal, non-verbal, physical, quid pro quo, and hostile learning environment. But not every conduct qualifies as harassment. Experts in sexual harassment cases in boarding schools and prep schools must clear up any gray areas in interpretation and opine on whether the alleged action constitutes harassment under Title IX and other standards.

Establishing Breach of Duty

Establishing school liability in harassment cases requires assessing whether the school’s action or inaction met or breached the professional standard of care. A harassment expert witness reviews the effectiveness of the school’s child protection policies and procedures. This includes investigating the screening, hiring, supervision, and retention of school employees, the adequacy of staff training, and the supervision of students in dorms, locker rooms, and elsewhere.

The role of expert witnesses entails reviewing the records of the victim and harasser to determine the foreseeability of abuse. They will assess whether the student reported harassment, what the school knew about the incident, and whether it effectively acted on this knowledge.

Establishing Proximate Cause and Damages

Finally, a harassment expert witness can establish whether there’s a direct link between the school’s action or inaction and the harassment incident and determine whether the school should be held responsible for negligence. They will assess the effects of harassment on the child’s health, well-being, and education, the severity of harm, and any reasonable compensation.

Engage Competent Expert Witnesses

The role of expert witnesses in sexual harassment cases in boarding schools and prep schools is multifaceted. They offer objective insights on duty of care, breach of standards, validity of claims, school liability, and more. In doing so, experts lend credence to an argument, clarify complex matters, and ensure the integrity of litigation.

The credibility of a harassment expert witness and their testimony can immensely affect the admissibility of evidence and case outcomes. The role of expert witnesses is to provide relevant and reliable testimony backed by sufficient facts and data in line with Rule 702. To ensure they can withstand intense cross-examination with rigorous frameworks like Daubert Standards, engage a highly qualified expert who embodies the four pillars of an expert witness and thoroughly vet them using Daubert vs. Frye Standards.

At School Liability Expert Group, our education expert witness team comprises court-qualified experts who can help plaintiff and defendant attorneys review and analyze boarding and prep school sexual harassment cases. Hundreds of law firms have sought our help in several school liability matters. Our experts are proficient in the professional and legal standards of care and undergo continuous training. We will bring specialized knowledge, extensive experience, and deep, independent research to handle your case. Our services include prompt, thorough, and highly individualized consultations, comprehensive reports, and expert witness testimony. Schools can engage us to review their policies and practices for compliance with the standards to prevent sexual harassment and costly lawsuits. Book a call today to discuss your matter with an expert.