Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York
child injured at school
My child is quiet and often is picked on. During lunch recess he was talking to another child, and suddenly some other kid approach him and unexpectedly pushed him. My son fell and broke his wrist in two parts. He was not playing any game. I know that the 7th graders are difficult to manage, but according to my sun it was quite often that children pushed each other and the supervising teachers were just saying ''do not push others'', but did not take any action. So, it seems to me that it was just a matter of time till something like this happens. My son was in anwsthesia and hopefully he would not need to go for operation, but he certainly went through a lot of pain and we just pray to god that he will not have any permanent handicap or wrist diasability. What are my options to make sure something like this does not repeat at the school and my sone is safe there?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child injured at school
It is quite possible that the school may be held responsible for this...clearly your son cannot be. Supervision will only be more vigilant if there is some sort of sit up and take notice aspect given to them
I have an office in Pleasantville if you would care to discuss the situation. (With a school system, time to give them legal notice is an urgent element.)
Good luck to your son and your family.
RRG
Re: child injured at school
"What are my options to make sure something like this does not repeat at the school and my sone is safe there?"
These are 2 very separate questions. The only way you can make sure that what happened is not repeated at that school is to transfer your son to a different school. That deals with the propsective question.
As far as the retrospective question: "What are my options?" It is possible that you could sue the school if you can establish that the school breached its responsbility of neglligent supervision. It is not enough to show an accident occurred, but rather that the employees carelessness created the cuircumstances which allowed the incident to occur. If they were aware of problems with your son in the past, and ignored the issues it certainly strengthens your case. I would be happy to talk to you about this.
Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can call my office to schedule an appointment for a consultation or in the alternative, I can be reached for on-phone low-cost legal consultation at 1-800-275-5336 x0233699.
Re: child injured at school
You should file a written complaint with the school to put them on notice about the situation in general as well as the particular student who pushed your child. I would not do this until you speak with a lawyer. In addition, you may be able to sue the school for your child's pain and suffereing. However, these are not easy cases. If the student who pushed your child had been in trouble before that is very helpful. If not, the only way to win is to show the teachers supervising fell down on the job. I have experience in these type of cases and am in the middle of one now. Please feel free to call me if you would like to discuss the case. In addition, please be aware that if the school is not a private school a Notice of Claim must be served within 90 days. You should discuss that with a lawyer as well.