Student Injuries
Negligence
Damages
Other Types of Liability
Miscellaneous Liability
100
A substitute or student teacher would not be held liable for damages that were a result of this kind of students' behavior, behavior that could not have been predicted, anticipated, or prevented.
What is unforeseeable?
100
This term refers to an event or act that is said to be the cause of an injury. In the case of Penn Harris Madison School Corp. v. Howard (Ind. 2007), a high school student fell from a flying device during a play. The court ruled that the student's contributory negligence was the _________ _____ of his injuries.
What is proximate cause?
100
________ damages are awarded to a wronged plaintiff that was unable to show any actual damages or injuries for which they should be compensated.
What is nominal?
100
With the continual increase in school crime, schools or school districts can be held liable if they fail to maintain this type of environment and a student or teacher is injured on school grounds.
What is a safe environment?
100
The winner of a lawsuit is called this.
What is prevailing party?
200
In a situation where a shop teacher leaves his young students unattended in a room full of dangerous equipment, he is breaching his ____ __ ____, something that a sensible teacher would have exercised.
What is duty of care?
200
In Miles v. School District No. 138 of Cheyenne County (Neb. 1979), Jodeen Miles was found guilty of ____________ negligence after she severed two of her fingers in high school shop class when trying to remove a piece of wood from a machine using her hands, and therefore failing to follow safety practices taught by her instructor that she had also previously been tested on. Jodeen's own negligence caused her injury.
What is contributory?
200
The purpose of awarding ________ ________, also known as exemplary damages, is to punish the defendants for their wrongful actions and prevent these actions from happening again in the future.
What are punitive damages?
200
In Wood v. Strickland (1975), two students were suspended without due process. Since school officials deprived these students of their constitutional rights, the school officials were held liable under _______ ____.
What is section 1983?
200
This term is used to describe the principle for which a person's intentions are fair, without malice or fraud.
What is good faith standard?
300
Two high school counselors violated their duty of care in Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County (Md. 1991) when they failed to inform the father of his 13-year-old daughter's alleged intention to commit suicide with another classmate, even though the girl denied such intentions to the counselors. The counselors in this case were found _______ for failing to attempt to prevent the girl's suicide.
What is liable?
300
In Rollins v. Concordia Parish School Board (La. App. 1985), a nine-year-old girl jumped off a merry-go-round, broke her leg, and was awarded 50% less compensation because the school board and the student were found to be equally negligent. This kind of negligence, which compares the negligence of the plaintiff to the negligence of the defendant, is called what?
What is comparative negligence?
300
These damages are the most commonly awarded damages and are the costs induced as a result of a defendant's negligence. These may include actual losses such as lost salary or medical expenses.
What are compensatory damages?
300
In Spears v. Jefferson Parish School Board (La. App. 5th Div. 1994), a P.E. teacher pretended to hang a kindergarten student's, Justin Spears', two friends because they were disrupting the class. Because Justin developed psychological problems from this incident, the P.E. teacher was found to be liable for these kind of injuries suffered by Justin, and Justin's parents were awarded compensatory damages to cover the costs of psychotherapy for Justin.
What are emotional injuries?
300
This type of conduct refers to acts that are conscious and intentional. When this type of conduct has groundless results, it is considered malicious conduct.
What is willful conduct?
400
In Sheehan v. St, Peter's Catholic School (Minn. 1971), an eighth grader, Margaret Sheehan, sustained an injury to her eye from some boys throwing pebbles at girls in the class during recess. The teacher, found to be negligent, had walked back to the school at the time the incident had occurred. Margaret's injury may have been prevented if the teacher had exercised ___________ ____, like a teacher of ordinary prudence would have.
What is reasonable care?
400
In Kelly v. McCarick (2004), the courts ruled that coaches and officials were not negligent in instruction and training when a thirteen-year-old girl sustained injuries sliding into a base during a softball game. Since the girl voluntarily engaged in the softball game and willingly exposed herself to predictable risks associated with the sport, this doctrine was recognized as a defense against the liability of the coach and officials.
What is assumption of risk?
400
In Memphis Community School District v. Stachura (1986), the court ruled that consequences like impairment of reputation, personal humiliation, mental anguish, and suffering can be considered ____________ damages along with actual losses like medical expenses and lost salary.
What is compensatory?
400
In School Board of Orange County v. Coffey (Fla. App. 1988), the school board and superintendent were found liable for _________ ______ after hiring and retaining a teacher who had sexually abused a student, knowing the teacher could cause injuries to others and put others at unreasonable risk of harm.
What is negligent hiring?
400
Schools cannot completely exclude students or teachers that have AIDS or many other illnesses that only present a minimal health risk to others. Section 504 of this act says that a teacher's illness must be studied in order to see if they can acquire safe accommodations, and ill students are also required to go through an evaluation process to arrange a suitable setting within the school.
What is the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.
500
In Sheehan v. Coventry Board of Education (2009), a student accidentally injured another student by causing an explosion created from the ignition of the combination of hydrogen and oxygen gas in a chemistry class. The student who had caused the explosion asserted that the teacher had not mentioned the risk of explosion. The court found the teacher to be negligent. In a situation such as this where circumstances are more hazardous, a teacher is expected to exercise a higher degree of __________ ____ to prevent students from being injured.
What is reasonable care?
500
This doctrine or theory can prevent negligence lawsuits against school districts, but not necessarily individual teachers, because school district can be considered state agencies that are sovereign and therefore can't be sued without their consent or permission.
What is governmental immunity?
500
In Parez v. Rodriguez Bou (1st Cir. 1978), a number of Puerto Rican college students were unjustly suspended for up to 12 days. The erroneous suspension was said to be an isolated error, and school officials were not found to be acting in bad faith. The court rejected an award for compensatory damages, as the students were unable to prove any actual injuries. Because the students could not prove actual injury, they were awarded this type of damages in addition to attorney's fees.
What are nominal damages?
500
In B.M. v. State of Montana (Mont. 1982), the Montana Supreme Court rules that a special education student, diagnosed as mentally retarded and placed in a segregated classroom, had been negligently misplaced by the school. Because of this negligent placement, the school was found liable for ___________ ___________.
What is educational malpractice?
500
Originating from an old English principle that a monarch can do no wrong, this is a doctrine that precludes the government or its political subdivisions, departments, and agencies from being sued without its consent or permission.
What is sovereign immunity?
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