Introduction to School Injury Claims
School injury claims for compensation are often emotive issues because an injury has occurred to a child due to a lack in the duty of care owed to children by those in positions of responsibility. School injury claims can also be made if a parent, teacher or visitor to a school sustains an injury for which they were not to blame and, in many cases, substantial settlements of school injury compensation can be paid to a child or adult who suffers a school injury which leaves them with lifelong health problems.
When your child begins a school, nursery or college, the education authority, school board or local council assumes a duty of care and are responsible for their well-being. There are almost as many hazards to health in a school as there are in the “outdoor world”, with potential slip, trip and fall accidents, injuries which can be suffered in the playground or during organised sports activities, bullying and even food poisoning from the school canteen.
The school authority not only has a responsibility to the children to provide them with a safe environment, but also any parents, teachers or visitors to the school. You may be entitled to make school injury claims on behalf of your child if they sustain an injury due to a breach in the duty of care owed to them by a teacher, but a teacher can also claim school injury compensation if they are not protected from being over-stressed by caring for your child.
Common School Injuries
The most typical school injury that occurs in schools is a fall from height. A Health and Safety Executive report into serious injury in schools showed that there have been six fatalities and over three thousand serious injuries in the past six years attributable to falling down stairs, falls from desks/chairs while putting up displays, falls from stools while closing windows, and falls from ladders while carrying out repairs and maintenance work.
The major factors in these injuries was either an absence of cleaning after a food or drinks spill, or a failure to provide suitable equipment for performing tasks at height. There are other common school injuries caused by genuine, unavoidable accidents where a child has been injured because of their own lack of care, but when their injuries are caused by negligence by the school authority, you are entitled to make school injury claims for compensation on their behalf.
What to do After a School Injury Occurs
When your child has suffered an injury in an accident at school, it will usually be their teacher who organises medical assistance when it is urgently required. In a number of cases, a teacher will wait for the arrival of a parent before that decision is made but, in any event, it is necessary that your child receives a professional medical examination if you wish to pursue a claim for school injury compensation. This is also the case when a parent, teacher or other visitor to the school suffers an injury, as the accident victim´s medical records will be used to support a school injury compensation claim.
All schools also keep an accident report book, into which details of the injury should be recorded, and it is advisable to take photographs of the scene where the injury was sustained and collect contact details for witnesses who saw the accident occur. Once your child (or you) has been given appropriate medical treatment- and not just First Aid – you should contact a school injury claims lawyer to organise your claim for school injury compensation.
School Injury Claims Lawyers
There are multiple reasons why you should use a lawyer who is familiar with claims for school injury compensation. This is a delicate area of law which often depends on the testimony of a young child as to the circumstances surrounding the accident, and whereas you (as a parent) are emotionally involved, an experienced school injury claims lawyer will be able to interpret more accurately how the accident could have occurred.
A personal injury lawyer with experience in school injury claims will also be used to dealing with the school authorities and their public liability insurance companies, who have a tendency to be very slow in conducting their own investigations into school injury claims for compensation. Your lawyer will have current knowledge of school injury compensation which is being awarded in similar cases and consequently in a better position to negotiate on your behalf should the school´s insurance company come to you with an inappropriate offer of early settlement for your school injury claim.
Free Legal Advice about School Injury Claims
If you or one of your children have sustained an injury in an accident at school for which you/they were not entirely to blame, you are invited to call our service on 0800 044 3256 to discuss the circumstances of the accident and injury at school and to establish whether you have a claim for school injury compensation which it is worth your while to pursue.
Our service is available twenty-four hours a day, seven hours a week, and enables you to speak directly with one of our school injury claims lawyers and to receive practical and impartial advice without any obligation to proceed with school injury claims for compensation once you havespoken with us.
All calls to our service are completely confidential and, if now is not a good time to speak with us, you are requested to leave your personal contact details in the “Callback Request” box at the side of the page and one of our team will get back in touch when it is more convenient.