Personal Injury

What You Need To Know If Your Child is Injured at School

It’s back to school across the country, and there’s no better time to think about keeping safe and avoiding accidents and injuries, says Long Island and New York City attorney Neal Goldstein. Whether an accident occurs in the cafeteria, playground, classroom, hallway or gym, schools have a responsibility to keep students safe during classroom hours. When there is poor supervision, insufficient security, old or broken equipment, and other dangerous conditions that are ignored by administrators,then accidents are more likely to occur. Has your child been injured at school? If so, it is important to take the proper steps to ensure that you receive the proper compensation to not only cover your expenses, but any possible future costs, pain and suffering.

What to do if your child is injured at school
It is important if your child is injured at school that there is a school record of this accident. Therefore, if your child first complains to you at home and did not go to the nurse, make sure to inform the nurse of the injury. When you take your child to the doctor, let the office know that this is a school injury because they will need to file a special report. Keep careful records of all related visits to the doctor and any other special care, medical equipment, or therapy that is needed.

When you are injured on public property-such as a public school-there are certain specific procedures that must be followed, and it is helpful to consult an attorney to ensure that the proper paperwork is filed and to determine the best way to persue the case.

The first important step to take if you think you might have a legal case is to file a Notice of Claim with the proper municipality you intend to sue. A Notice of Claim is a legal document that details the accident and informs the city of your intent to sue. All states have specific time requirments for how long you can wait to file this. In New York and New Jersey, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim or you lose the right to sue.

Once you have decided to sue and put the school on notice, your attorney will launch an investigation into the details of the accident. This will include gathering facts and evidence that show the extent and impact of your child’s injuries and that they were incurred as the result of a preventable accident that is the fault of the school.

HIring a good lawyer is important in proving your case. The lawyer will need to work a team that can include school officials and administrators, teachers, doctors and medical experts, investigators and engineers or other specialists that can inspect the site of the accident. In addition to looking after the details, a good lawyer will keep you informed of any progress on the case and let you know what you can expect at each step of the process.

By: Neal Goldstein

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