Liability of Schools for Injuries Suffered by Children
Every parent expects their children to feel safe at school and more importantly, to actually be safe. Everyday, students are injured on school properties. They can occur in a schoolyard, playground, sporting field, classroom or gymnasium. Students are injured while walking in and outside on the school grounds, while participating in sporting activities or outings. Not all accidents which occur on school property makes the school, teachers or school boards liable for injuries sustained by students. In all cases, the onus is on the injured person to prove that the school and its officials were negligent. The court will apply a general test of what would a reasonably prudent parent have done in similar circumstances when assessing liability.
It is important to feel safe when you send your children off to school. School injuries are most likely to occur when school officials fail to properly take precautionary steps and fail to supervise.
When it comes to playground injuries, in our experience shows that improper supervision is a significant factor. Teachers and supervisors should monitor the students on the playground and ensure that unsafe behaviors like physical contact between students or the inappropriate use of school equipment are addressed before accidents happen. In some cases, the environment in which the children are playing is inherently unsafe such as hard surfaces or poorly maintained equipment.
When it comes to injuries while participating in sporting activities, the balance between encouraging physical activity and accidents is important to consider in the context of liability in schools. Our experience shows that injuries while students participate in sporting activities occur when there is a lack of supervision, poorly maintained equipment, unsafe conditions and in proper training of either the students or the persons supervising them.
All parents and schools seek to encourage children to be active and physical education is an important aspect of school curriculum. In the end, providing schools and their teachers take reasonable steps to properly supervise and instruct students, accidents will occur but liability may not necessarily follow. However, where there is negligence, such as lack of supervision, lack of training or improperly maintained equipment, liability can follow.
If your child has been injured while at school or during a school activity or outing, please consult one of our school liability lawyers free of charge. Our Ottawa accident lawyers provide free consultations and work on a no fee until you win basis. Call us at 613-315-4878.
QTMG Personal Injury Lawyers – Ottawa School Liability Lawyers
613-315-4878