{"id":559,"date":"2013-10-24T17:23:10","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T17:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/education-expert.com\/?p=559"},"modified":"2025-03-24T12:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T12:47:30","slug":"understanding-school-agency-negligence-child-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/education-expert.com\/NewEE\/understanding-school-agency-negligence-child-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"School Safety Expert on Negligent Supervision and Student Injury Liability"},"content":{"rendered":"

School negligence cases<\/span> involving teachers, coaches, camp counselors, bus drivers, and other personnel resulting in injury to a child are ever-present in the news. Negligence that results in sexual abuse, death, injury, and sports accidents all present opportunities for costly <\/span>negligence claims<\/span> that may entail large settlements or grave jury verdicts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of negligence in schools<\/span> that can lead to a child\u2019s harm include failure to properly and frequently maintain school premises and playground equipment, lack of sports safety gear, <\/span>negligent supervision<\/span> during sports, in the school bus, on field trips, or during other school activities on and off campus, unmonitored or unrestricted staff-child interaction, lack of robust school policies for incident prevention, reporting, and response, unaddressed incidents of bullying, discrimination, and harassment, and other breaches of the professional standard of care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plaintiff and defendant attorneys can follow a few recommended steps to determine the merit of filing a complaint and the strength of a defense. In this article, a <\/span>school safety expert<\/span><\/a> presents a systematic process to guide attorneys when assessing <\/span>student injury<\/span> liability as the result of <\/span>negligent supervision<\/span> by a school and agency employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Professional Standard of Care<\/b><\/h2>\n

Schools and other agencies that supervise children are held to a high standard to protect the health, safety, and well-being of children. A reasonable school or agency administrator or teacher\/supervisor standard is applied when assessing <\/span>school<\/span> and agency <\/span>negligence cases<\/span>. This standard compares how another person of the same education, training, and experience would respond in the same circumstance. This goes beyond the typical \u201creasonable person\u201d standard and requires an assessment based on the <\/span>professional standard of care in the field of child supervision and safety<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

When a <\/span>child is injured, dies<\/span><\/a>, is assaulted, or is sexually <\/span>abused<\/span><\/a>, often the outcome is a <\/span>negligent supervision<\/span> lawsuit on the part of the involved staff member. The court might find the school or agency guilty of a tort if the employee breached a professional duty, which can be demonstrated as a proximate cause of the child or <\/span>student injury<\/span>. If, on the other hand, the school or agency, through its employee, acted reasonably under the circumstances and within the professional standard of care, the defense is likely to prevail.<\/span><\/p>\n

School-Related Injuries<\/b><\/h2>\n

Because nearly 80 million children in the United States and Canada spend a significant portion of their waking hours in school, the potential for liability due to <\/span>negligent supervision<\/b>, poor planning, insufficient staff training, ineffective policies, and poorly maintained premises<\/b> is extensive. Public perception, however, often distorts both the extent of school liability and the nature of injuries sustained by students during school-related activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Public attention on student injuries tends to focus on <\/span>school violence<\/b>, largely because it dominates media coverage. However, the vast majority of student injuries occur in situations that may <\/span>initially appear unintentional or accidental<\/b> but, in many cases, can be traced back to <\/span>failures in supervision, activity planning, staff training, or facility maintenance<\/b>. Studies indicate that school-aged children are nine times more likely to sustain an <\/span>injury linked to <\/b>negligent supervision<\/b> or environmental hazards<\/b> than to be the victim of an intentional act of violence at school (<\/span>ResearchGate, 2018<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Each year, children in the United States under the age of fifteen sustain more than <\/span>14 million unintentional injuries<\/b>, with an estimated <\/span>10 to 25 percent of these occurring in and around schools<\/b> (<\/span>CDC, 2022<\/span><\/a>). In total, <\/span>1 in 14 <\/b>student<\/b>s<\/b> suffers a medically attended or temporarily disabling <\/span>injury<\/span> while at school (<\/span>ResearchGate, 2018<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>elementary schools<\/b>, playground injuries are most common, often occurring due to <\/span>poorly maintained equipment, inadequate safety surfacing, or lack of proper supervision<\/b>. According to the <\/span>U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission<\/b>, over <\/span>200,000 children aged 14 and younger<\/b> receive emergency treatment for playground-related injuries each year, with <\/span>46% of these injuries occurring in schools<\/b> (<\/span>CPSC, 2022<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>secondary schools<\/b>, a significant number of injuries result from <\/span>athletic activities, including physical education classes and organized <\/b>sports<\/b><\/a>, where the risk increases when schools fail to <\/span>implement appropriate safety protocols, ensure proper training, or enforce policies that protect students from preventable harm<\/b>. <\/span>Sports and recreational activities account for 55% of school-related injuries<\/b> (<\/span>ResearchGate, 2018<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

While many injuries in school settings are classified as <\/span>unintentional<\/b>, several <\/span>preventable factors<\/b> contribute to their occurrence:<\/span><\/p>\n