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Leav and Steinberg Team

School Negligence Lawyers in New York

Our team of attorneys at Leav & Steinberg LLP is well-versed in New York school negligence law. If you think that your child has been harmed due to negligence on the part of his or her school officials, contact our office as soon as possible.

What Is School Negligence?

In general, school negligence occurs when a student is harmed due to inadequate supervision, unsafe conditions, or negligence by staff. According to the law, a school has a duty to exercise the same degree of care towards its students as would a reasonably prudent parent (source). The duty owed derives from the simple fact that a school, in assuming physical custody and control over its students, effectively takes the place of parents and guardians (source).

Schools are under a duty to adequately supervise the students in their charge, and they will be held liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision (source). Generally, the adequacy of a school’s supervision of its students and whether inadequate supervision was the proximate cause of a student’s injury are questions of fact (source).

How Do You Know If You've Experienced School Negligence?

As with other negligence of organization cases, proving that school negligence has occurred depends on a variety of factors, which will be determined by a full investigation of the circumstances. If you think that school negligence may have been the cause of injury to your child, seek medical attention right away and contact our office as soon as possible.

There are several laws and cases on the books that determine whether school negligence has occurred. In determining whether the duty to provide adequate supervision has been breached in the context of injuries caused by the acts of fellow students, it must be established that school authorities had sufficient specific knowledge or notice of the dangerous conduct which caused injury; that is, that the third-party acts could reasonably have been anticipated. The adequacy of a school’s supervision of its students is generally a question left to the courts to resolve, as is the question of whether inadequate supervision was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

Even if the teacher and/or instructor responsible for supervision over the students did not witness the activities or actions that resulted in the injuries or did not observe the accident itself, New York courts often do not dismiss the case. For example, in the case of Talyanna S. v. Mount Vernon City School Dist., the Supreme Court found that the injured student was not properly supervised, and the municipality’s motion for dismissal was denied.

Allow Leav & Steinberg to Help You

If your child has been injured due to school negligence in the New York City area, our team of lawyers at Leav & Steinberg can help. We have extensive experience handling premises liability and school negligence cases, including helping one client reach a $350,000 settlement on behalf of an injured five-year-old. For a free consultation, give us a call today at 212-766-5222.