What Happens When A Child Slips And Falls At School?

When you send your child to school each morning, you trust that they will be healthy and safe at school. School officials are responsible for providing a safe environment to children and which includes appropriate supervision. There are dozens of children for every one adult. With such a disproportionate ratio of child to adult, accidents are bound to happen. 

One of the most common accidents to occur at school is a slip and fall. If you have suffered a slip and fall resulting in injury, property damage, pain and suffering, you should contact an attorney. A Slip and Fall attorney can assist you with taking the right steps in difficult situations like these and can help you take the proper legal steps.

Common Injuries Caused By A Slip, Trip, And Fall

While some victims of slips and falls will experience only minor bumps and bruises, other victims might suffer more severe injuries. Some of these injuries include traumatic brain injury caused when the head hits a hard surface, spinal injuries if they fall on their neck or back, internal bleeding, broken bones, deep tissue contusions, and many more.

Most of these injuries would send your child to the emergency room, and some of them may need surgery. If an accident is caused by the negligent action of someone at the school, you deserve to recover compensation for any medical bills and other losses that you incurred because of the injury.

What Are The Primary Causes Of Slip And Falls At School?

Slips and falls happen for various reasons, some of which are from negligence and some of which are not. With so many people regularly traveling through the same hallways and stairways daily at school, there is little wonder that slip and fall accidents occur regularly. 

Sometimes accidents occur because a child simply loses balance. In other cases, accidents may be caused by:

• Wet floors

• Worn out carpets

• Cracked pavement

• A torn carpet

• Unsecured to walls

• Obstacles in walkways

• An uneven ground

The school has a duty to keep the school premises safe for all students to use. When the school fails to correct dangerous conditions and a student gets injured, the victim can recover financially. 

Such incidents in school can be complicated and might involve some legal issues, but consulting an experienced New Jersey Personal Injury Attorney helps.

What Do I Have To Prove To Win A Case Against A School?

In accordance with the law, a school may be found negligent and liable for all injuries on the school premises when a school fails to utilize reasonable care to keep the premises safe. 

The school should use utmost care to discover any unsafe latent defects or conditions and replace, repair, or provide an adequate warning to the public that there is a hazard.

Factors that should be taken into account while determining whether a school has used reasonable care in the maintenance of property include:

• Property location

• Possibility of another person coming to the property and behaving as the plaintiff

• Possibility of harm

• Possible seriousness of the harm

• Whether or not the school knew or should have known about the condition that formed the risk

• Difficulty in protecting the students, people, and employees at the school against the risk of such a harm

It is important to prove that the school was negligent. To win a premises liability lawsuit, which is the kind of lawsuit you may have to file if you or your child is hurt in such an accident. You should be able to prove the following four elements:

• The school district occupies, controls or owns the property

• The school district was neglectful in the utilization and maintenance of the property

• The plaintiff was affected

• The negligence of the school district was one of the vital factors in causing the plaintiff harm

A Public Or Private School? It Matters For Filing A Lawsuit

Did your child’s slip and fall accident happen at a public school or a private school? The answer to this question can significantly impact the time you have to file your claim.

When you are filing a claim against the unified school district, a government agency, you have six months from the date of your accident to file for a claim. If you plan to make a claim, one thing to keep in mind when you start the claim is to consult an attorney about the case as soon as possible.

When an accident occurs at a private school, the statute of limitations may be longer. This means that when your child slips and falls at a private school, you may get as many as two years or longer from the date of the accident to file your claim. The statute of limitations varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.