The safety of children must always be of the utmost importance, regardless of the setting. When you drop your child off at school, you should feel especially confident that the educators and administrators supervising them will keep them out of harm’s way, no matter what. Sadly, this does not always happen. When school staff are careless in their duties and children suffer injuries or bodily harm as a result, it is possible to sue for negligent supervision in response.
While negligent supervision is a serious offense, the state of New York only gives you a limited time frame to secure compensation for your child’s pain and suffering. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Contact our Brooklyn personal injury lawyers at Belushin Law Firm, P.C. and start seeking justice for your child today.
Understanding Negligent Supervision.
Negligence is broadly defined as a failure to adequately watch over or take care of something. From an educational standpoint, however, negligence can involve any behavior that results in direct harm to a child. Legally, educators must follow specific rules when supervising students. Failure to adhere to these rules constitutes negligent supervision. This can occur in the classroom, at recess, in the cafeteria, or elsewhere on school property. In essence, any instance where your child is injured at a New York public school can leave that school open to a municipal lawsuit.
Types of injuries you can sue for in a negligent supervision suit include:
- Playground Injuries: While little scrapes and bruises are common on school property, serious injuries should never occur while children are trying to have fun. If your child falls or otherwise gets knocked down while at recess, and sustains broken bones, head trauma, or other serious injuries as a result, you may be able to hold the supervisor who was supposed to be watching them responsible.
- Equipment Injuries: On the playground and beyond, the average school contains multiple pieces of equipment and machinery that can pose a risk to children. From jungle gyms to paper cutters, it is be possible to bring a lawsuit against the school if your child was injured using faulty equipment or equipment they were not old enough to handle.
- Injuries from Other Children: Small spats are bound to occur between children in school. However, when these incidents get out of hand, it is the responsibility of educators to put a stop to them. When supervisors fail to do that, and children sustain serious injuries as a result of their classmates, it is possible to argue for negligence.
- Injuries from School Staff: Corporal punishment has been prohibited in New York public schools since 1985. If another adult ever hurts your child by laying hands on them, either on purpose or accidentally, you may want to consider not only suing them, but suing the school for negligent supervision.
Don’t Wait, Act Now!
Injuries that occur on municipal property in the state of New York only have a limited timeframe to be tried in a court of law. In the case of negligent supervision, the plaintiff only has 90 days to file a claim on behalf of their child. This is why you need an experienced personal injury attorney who will help discern the facts of the case and act on your behalf as quickly as possible.
At Belushin Law Firm, our goal is to make sure you and your family are awarded the settlement you deserve. From premises liability to defective products, we have the skills, experience, and resources necessary to fight for you or your loved ones. Remember, no child should have to suffer as a result of someone else’s negligence. Call Belushin Law firm and let us get to work on your case today.
We are available by phone at (888) 918-9890, or you can contact us online for a free consultation.