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Student Injury
Rights and Responsibilities
Negligent or Not
Damages
Wild Card!!
100
1. The teacher has a duty to not injure the student and to protect the student from being injured. 2. The teacher failed to use due care 3. The teacher's carelessness casued the injury 4. The student sustained provable damages
What are the four things that must be proven before a teacher can be held liable for damages to an injured student?
100
Teachers can be liable for failing to report known cases of child abuse. Individuals who report abuse are granted civil and/or criminal immunity from any liability from their reports as long as the reports were made in good faith.
Do teachers have a responsibility to report child abuse?
100
The school district was not held liable because they had no way of knowing that the principal they had hired was unfit, and they were found to have acted in good faith when he as hired. Although the employee did have a history of sexual assault, school officials had no knowledge of this history and were therefore not found to be at fault.
In the 1990 case Medlin v. Bass, why was the school district found not guilty of negligent hiring?
100
Nominal damages are a small, primarily symbolic which may be awarded in a case in which the plaintiff has cannot show actual damages, although they have been wronged.
What are nominal damages?
100
While some states uphold the immunity of governmental entities, such as school districts, injured students are permitted to sue individual teachers for negligence.
Is governmental, or sovereign immunity a defense against negligence?
200
The court ruled that the teacher failed to exercise reasonable care when she left a group of students unsupervised on an anthletic field.
In the 1971 case Sheehan v. St. Peter's Catholic School, on what grounds did the court rule that the teacher was at fault for the student's injury?
200
Contributory negligence takes place when a student's own negligence contributes to the injury. And example would be the case of Penn Harris Madiosn School Corp. v. Howard in 2007, in which the school was not held liable when a student was injured trying to use a homemade device in order to fly during a theatrical performance.
Give an example of a case of contributory negligence.
200
No, it is not enough. In order to recover damages, the injured student must prove that the teacher's failure to use due care was the casue of the injury.
Is it enough to prove that a teacher was careless in order to recover damages?
200
Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are awarded in order to punish the defendants for causing monetary, physical, or psychological injury to the plaintiffs. The defendant may have shown malice, fraud, or disregard for the plaintiff's safety or constitutional rights.
What are punitive damages?
200
Yes, under Section 1983 school officials, such as board members and administrators acting under state law can be held liable.
Can school districts be held liable for violating a student's constitutional rights?
300
Some examples or potentially more dangerous situations would be chemistry labs, physical educations classes, or on field trips. In these situations, a teacher would be expected to exercise greater care by providing careful instruction, clear warnings, and close supervision.
In what kind of situation would a teacher need to exercise greater care to avoid negligence?
300
Yes. In the 1986 case of Broward County School Board v. Ruiz, a Florida court held that the school was liable after a student was beaten on school property. The court found that the students were not adequately supervised and this created an unsafe environment which should have been foreseeable.
Are schools responsible for creating and maintaining safe environments?
300
Yes they can. If a teacher knows (or should know) that a student is likely to hurt another student or teacher, the teacher has an obligation to try to prevent the injury.
Can teachers be held liable if a student injures another student or a teacher?
300
Comparitive negligence comes into play when more than one party has been negligent. For an example, a student may be deemed 40% responsible for causing an injury, while the school is considered responsible for the other 60% of the negligence. In this scenario, a student will receive a reduced award based on the student's own negligence.
How does comparitive negligence affect damages?
300
Yes, under Section 1983 the court may award attorneys' fees to the prevailing party, provided that the prevailing party is not the United States.
Are the plaintiffs in successful civil rights lawsuits entitled to recover their attorneys' fees?
400
The school board was held liable when a six-year-old student was injured by a protruding screw on a piece of playground equipment. The court ruled that the number of teachers to supervise the number of students on the playground was insufficient and that the the layout of the playground equipment was not done using reasonable care.
In the 1980 case, Gibbons v. Orleans Parish School Board, the school board was found liable for failing to exercise reasonable care under what circumstances?
400
Most often, waivers are not effective because most courts have found that they are invalid on public policy grounds.
Can a waiver or a release protect a school from a lawsuit?
400
No, the school district was not liable. The court ruled that schools do not have a duty to supervise the grounds at all times.
In the 1978 case, Bartell v. Palos Verdes Peninsula School District, was the school found liable for an injury that ocurred on the playground after school hours?
400
Compensatory damages are the kind most commonly awarded by the courts. This award compensates the injured party for their actual losses, such as medical expenses, lost salary, and/or other provable losses.
What are compensatory damages?
400
The court found that the plaintiff was owed compensation for injuries as subjective as impairment of reputation, personal humiliation, mental anguish and suffering.
In the 1983 case, Memphis Community School District v. Stachura, what kinds of compensatory damages did the court deem to be appropriate?
500
In 1991, the court ruled in favor of the parent of a deceased student. The court ruled that since school counselors knew of the student's intent to commit suicide and did not notify parents, the counselors were not exercising their 'duty of care.'
How did the concept of 'duty of care' apply to the case, Eisel v. Board of Education of Montgomery County?
500
Schools that adopt policies reflecting current research and apply them with care are less likely to find themselves involved in a lawsuit.
What is the best practice for a school district when deciding how to handle the issue of students or employees who have AIDS?
500
No, the court ruled that the school had not acted with negligence regarding the supervision of a basketball game. The court ruled that supervision, or lack of it, was NOT the proximate cause of students bumping heads while playing basketball. It was decided that bumping heads was "one of the natural and normal possible consequences," of playing basketball.
In the 1961 case, Kaufman v. City of New York, did the court rule that insufficient supervision was the proximate cause of the accident?
500
The court found that the students had been improperly suspended, but that they had not suffered any provable injury. The court awarded them nominal damages plus attorneys' fees.
How were damages awarded in the 1978 case, Perez v. Rodriguez Bou.?
500
Yes, if those officials are aware of the violation and do nothing to right the wrongful acts.
Can school officials be liable under Title IX?