Court is in Session
Damages, $$$ and Mind
Determine the Damage
The Verdict Is...
Potpourri
100
In this court case, a 6-year-old student was injured by a screw on a tether ball pole. The school board was found liable, as the teacher was unable to practice reasonable care, due to "inadequate and virtually impossible" supervising functions.
What is Gibbons v. Orleans Parish School Board (La. App. 1980)
100
The purpose of this award is to compensate injured persons for their actual losses, including for their medical expenses, lost salary, and other provable costs incurred as a result of the defendant's negligence.
What are compensatory damages.
100
Damages in this type of action are ordinarily determined by common-law tort principles.
What is Section 1983.
100
In this case a student was critically injured when he jumped for a basketball and bumped heads with another student. According to the court even if there was absence of supervision, "such lack of supervision was not the proximate cause of the accident."
What is Kaufman v. City of New York, (M.Y. Sup. Ct. 1961).
100
Every state protects individuals who report child abuse by granting civil or criminal immunity from any liability from their reports provided that the reports were made in this standard.
What is good faith standard
200
The concept of duty of care was applied in this Maryland case where two high school counselors were held liable for failing to attempt to prevent a student's suicide.
What is Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County (Md. 1991)
200
These are a small symbolic award (e.g. $1), where the plaintiff has been wronged but has not been able to show actual damages.
What are nominal damages.
200
In Memphis Community School District v. Stachura, (1986) the Court reaffirmed that compensatory damages might include not only verified pecuniary losses, but also payment for subjective consequences such as these
What is impairment of reputation, personal humiliation, mental anguish and suffering.
200
In this case a North Carolina board of education was not found liable for negligent hiring when it retained a principal who allegedly assaulted a student.
What is Medlin v. Bass (N.C. 1990).
200
A common-law theory which hold that since the state and its agencies are sovereign, they cannot be sued without their consent and should not be held liable for the negligence of their employees.
What is governmental immunity.
300
In this case, Jodeen Miles severed two of her fingers when she attempted to remove a piece of wood from an operating machine with her hands during a shop class. The court dismissed her claim and concluded she was guilty of contributory negligence.
What is Miles v. School District No. 138 of Cheyenne County (Neb. 1979).
300
These are awarded where defendants have shown malice, fraud, or reckless disregard for an injured person's safety or constitutional rights.
What are punitive damages.
300
The court referred to Cary v. Piphus, (1978), stating that punitive damages in an action where constitutional rights cannot serve as a basis for an award of compensatory damages, unless it is deemed appropriate to punish this type of conduct by the defendant.
What is willful conduct.
300
In this 1999 Supreme Court case, the court held that a private right of action existed under Title IX against school board members for failing to prevent pervasive student-on-student sexual harassment.
What is Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Educ. (199)
300
The government's freedom from being sued for money damages without its consent.
What is sovereign immunity.
400
In this case, a nine-year-old girl broke her leg jumping off a merry-go-round. The court found both the school board and the child negligent. The judge compared the relative negligence, and the girl's award was reduced by 50%, by way of comparative negligence laws.
What is Rollins v. Concordia Parish School Board (La. App. 1985).
400
In Spears v. Jefferson Parish School Board, (La. App. 5th Div. 1994), a kindergarten student was found to have emotional injuries after the teacher pretended that he had hanged the students' two friends. The school board was required to pay the parents of the student to cover the costs of this
What is mental anguish and suffering.
400
Federal law provides that in Section 1983 lawsuits, the court may allow this party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
What is the prevailing party.
400
In this case, the injuries suffered by a teacher in Texas who was sexually assaulted by a student were covered by workers' compensation, precluding her from suing the school for common-law damages.
What is Simpson v. State, (Tex. App.-Austin 1999).
400
Historically, the courts have ruled that school districts and school board members could not be held BLANK for injuries to students or teachers that were a result of errors of judgement. The answer for BLANK is...
What is liable
500
In this case, a high school graduate who could read only at a fifth-grade level sued the school district for educational malpractice in failing to provide him with adequate instruction in basic skills.
What is Peter w. v. San Francisco Unified School District (App. 1976).
500
What are the three kinds of damages that are awarded by the courts?
What are compensatory, punitive, and nominal damages.
500
This law deals with damages due to deprivation of Constitutional rights.
What is Section 1983.
500
In this case involving a fourth-grade student where the teacher sustained a neck injury when he violently pulled her hair, the parents were held liable.
What is Nieuwendorp v. American Family Insurance, (Wis. 1995).
500
This doctrine is based on the idea that public funds designated for schooling should not be paid to private individuals for non-educational purposes.
What is tort immunity
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