Our office receives many calls from parents involving a child that was injured while in school or summer camp or in some other program, such as a sport team or a dance class. Interestingly, while the parent is almost always saddened by the injury to their child, they are often angry about the lack of proper care provided to the child after the injury was suffered.
For example, I recently spoke with a parent who told me that her son got off the school bus complaining that his arm had been hurting since he fell in school earlier that day. When her son had presented himself to the School Nurse, she said that he “was fine” and sent him on his way. The school never called the mother to tell her that her son had been hurt. At home, when the boy’s complaints of pain persisted, his mother took him to the Emergency Room, where an X-ray revealed that his arm had been broken.
The Mother was furious with the School Nurse and administration and wanted to know what, if anything, she could do legally.
Schools and similar facilities are held to be In Loco Parentis, a latin term meaning, “in the place of the parent.” In other words, the school is obligated to provide that level of care and supervision that a reasonable parent would provide under the same or similar circumstances.
Aside from determinations as to:
A) Was the school negligent ? ;
and
B) Was such negligence the cause of the boy’s injury ?
with respect to any civil liability on the part of the school (as employer of the nurse,) a determination must be made as to whether the claimed post-injury lack of proper care caused further injury or worsened the subject injury.
In the example discussed, did the nurse’s failure to have the boy’s fracture diagnosed promptly, (ie; sending him to the Emergency Room a few hours sooner than his mother ultimately did,) cause additional harm ? Did the nurse’s and the school’s not having called the mother to inform her of what had happened cause injury or worsen the subject injury? ( Aside from the mother’s emotional harm of experiencing shock and outrage that her son stepped off the bus with a broken arm that was not properly treated sooner, and that she had not been called.)
In those cases where the answer to these questions is in the negative, that is, the post-accident lack of care did not cause new injury or worsen the subject injury, notification or complaint to the school administration is most likely the best course of action. I say “best” in the sense that these parents, who realize there may not be liability for the cause of the injury, are nevertheless, often justifiably outraged at the lack of “after-care” and want to constructively channel those feelings. For example, many such parents have told me, “I want to make sure this does not happen again”, or “I want to make sure this does not happen to someone else’s child”.
It has been my experience most often that when such parents learn what elements are necessary to support a claim on behalf of their injured child, even if there is no liability on the part of the school, they feel relieved to know they can at the very least voice a complaint about the post-injury lack of proper care. (eg; communicating with school administrators, elected officials, the op-ed page of the local newspaper, etc.)
Of course, this post is not intended to provide legal counsel/advice for a particular situation. If a child has been injured, that child’s parent(s) or legal guardian should speak to a qualified personal injury lawyer promptly so as to protect any and all legal rights that child may have.
In closing, I would like to acknowledge the many school nurses, teachers, coaches and administrators who do such fine work every day caring for the young people in their care.
