My daughter was injured by a teacher on campus. The school claims they aren’t liable…are they?

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My daughter was injured by a teacher on campus. The school claims they aren’t liable…are they?

A teacher slung a door open and it
struck my child on the hand as she was
atteotkng to open it. The damage to
her hand is severe tendon damage and
may require surgery if the splint
doesn’t correct the damage. The school
says their insurance only covers spots
related injuries so the liability falla
on me. Considering it was a teacher who
caused the injury, I would think the
school is 100 liable.

Asked on April 29, 2016 under Personal Injury, Texas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

The school may be liable, as the teacher may be liable, IF the teacher were careless ("negligent") in injuring your child. For example, they may be liable if the teacher slammed the door unreasonably hard, or slammed the door without looking to see if anyone was in the way. But if the teacher was not at fault, they would not be liable--so if the teacher was responding to an emergency (an alarm or scream) when he/she raced through the door and it was just bad luck your child's hand was in the way, they would probably not be liable, since it is reasonable, not careless, to run through a door in response to certain sounds of distress. The facts determine liability.
If the teacher had been careless/negligent however, then he/she (as the person causing the injury) and the school (since their employee negligently caused an injury in the course of employment) may be liable. If the are and they do not pay voluntarily, you could sue them. Not having appropriate insurance does NOT mean they can't be liable or don't have to pay--it just means that they don't have insurance to pay for them, but would have to pay out of pocket if found liable. You should sue both the school and the teacher: the more people who may be liable, the greater the likelihood of collecting money.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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