Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) Cases Expert Witness

Defining Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying

When facing HIB concerns, it is vital to understand precisely what to look for. A HIB case expert witness can confirm whether the incident qualifies as harassment, intimidation, or bullying, or was merely student conflict. The legal definition of HIB may vary slightly across state lines, but generally refers to any intentional written, verbal, or physical act or electronic communication that is motivated by any actual or perceived characteristic such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

For a school to be held liable for HIB matters, the act or gesture must take place on school property, at a school-sponsored event, or on school transportation. However, schools may also be held liable for electronic communication (cyberbullying) that is so pervasive that it interferes with the victim’s education. A student bullying expert witness can attest to whether the cyberbullying reached that threshold, for instance, by fostering a hostile learning environment.

Bullying and harassment are terms that are often used interchangeably, but a HIB case expert witness will note there are subtle differences.

• Bullying: Bullying is when one student leverages physical, social, or emotional power over another individual to target the victim with repeated, unwanted words or actions in a hostile learning environment. Physical acts of bullying, especially those that cause a bullying student injury, are some of the most common cases that get a lot of attention.
• Harassment: When bullying behavior is targeted at a member of a protected class — including but not limited to race, religion, sex, age, or disability — then a harassment in education expert witness would consider it to be harassment. This is important to note as there are different federal protections for harassment victims than for victims of bullying.
• Intimidation: Intimidation is often considered a form of bullying or harassment, but it is helpful to understand what makes it different. Legally, an act of intimidation occurs when someone frightens a victim into doing something. For example, one student physically stuffing the victim into a locker would be an act of bullying. However, if the student makes threats toward the victim until the victim goes into the locker on their own, that would be considered intimidation by an expert witness specializing in bullying and intimidation. If those threats were based upon the victim’s gender, religion, race, or other protected class, then this would be considered harassment as well.

A HIB case expert witness is often called upon during litigation to clarify the distinctions between harassment, bullying, and intimidation and determine whether the behavior in question constitutes HIB.

School Liability in HIB Cases

When incidents of HIB take place, the school may be held liable for negligence. A student bullying expert witness from the School Liability Expert Group can evaluate compliance with the standards protecting children from bullying, student injury, and other HIB incidents. While a school cannot be expected to eliminate all forms of HIB incidents that occur, there is a professional standard of care they must meet. A school, college, daycare, or other child supervision organization or agency must reasonably protect the children under its care from harassment, intimidation, and bullying.

With reputable harassment, intimidation, and bullying expert witness services, the School Liability Expert Group has established a process to quickly and thoroughly determine the viability of an HIB school liability case. Adept at research and with specialized knowledge, our HIB case expert witness team can verify if an institution or organization knew or should have known the harassment, intimidation, or bullying was occurring, and if that school met its reasonable expectation of child protection.

Failure to meet the professional standard of care in student supervision can result in school negligence cases. When it comes to harassment, much of this standard is regulated by Title IX laws. However, as a harassment in education expert witness can attest, there is room for interpretation within the specific wording of the law. For example, suppose a school administrator is made aware that a student is the victim of bullying and does not take any immediate action to eliminate or prevent the behavior. In that case, a HIB case expert witness will establish that their response does not meet the standard of care. The student bullying expert witness can testify as to whether or not the timing of the administrator’s response qualifies as “immediate.” School Liability Expert Group has the nuanced, extensive experience to offer an expert opinion on the promptness of the administrator’s response to a situation.

Find Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Expert Witness Services and Consultation

School Liability Expert Group offers HIB case expert witness services and consultation to both plaintiff and defendant attorneys in matters of student or child harassment, intimidation, and bullying in schools and other child- and youth-oriented agencies. Our expert team will conduct an analysis of your HIB case, identifying the school’s duty to protect, the standard of care, the proximate cause of the incident, and the severity of the injury or other harm. With this information, our expert witness team specializing in intimidation, bullying, and harassment in education can ascertain the viability of the case on behalf of either the plaintiff or the defendant. We can help interpret harassment, intimidation, and bullying legal standards in the US and Canadian school systems.

Schools most commonly lose HIB-related lawsuits because they were informed of the bullying incidents and failed to take any action. A student bullying expert witness can review school policies and student records for both the bully and victim to render an opinion as to whether the school’s actions (or lack thereof) directly lead to the bullying student injury. For schools and agencies, our HIB case expert witness services can help them improve their policies and minimize the risk of litigation. Book a call with an expert from School Liability Expert Group to discuss how we can assist you with your harassment, bullying, or intimidation case.