School Accident Lawyer in Long Island
Serving the Injured in West Suffolk County
While schools, both public and private, including kindergarten through 12th grade, colleges, universities and trade schools, are not the guarantors of your child’s safety, the administrators, teachers, aides and other school personnel nevertheless still owe a duty to prevent foreseeable risks to your children. Teachers must competently supervise children and guard against foreseeable risks. For instance, in a situation where there are too many children and too few teachers on a field trip, and a student is injured, the school may be liable for these injuries under a theory of negligent supervision. Alternatively, if the school playground equipment, for example, is defective and dangerous, or if a teacher has been hired regardless of a prior criminal history and assaults a student, or if a child who has a history of bullying has been bullying your child, parents may have a right to bring a case to protect their child’s interest if the child is under the age of 18 (the victim may bring their own case if over the age of 18).
"Mr. Glassman and staff carried us through a difficult situation to a very
satisfactory outcome involving the injury of a minor. He was patient with
my son, honest and reliable. Strongly recommend."
-Former Client
If your child was injured at school, the time is now to contact the Suffolk County personal injury attorney at The Law Office of Matthew Glassman. Backed by over three decades of experience, Mr. Glassman is a seasoned advocate with an unyielding commitment to his clients. Because time is limited to file a personal injury claim, do not delay in contacting the firm to request a free case review.
Tell us about your case. Call (631) 406-4385 to get started.
Statute of Limitations for School Injury Cases
Since public schools are municipal or quasi-municipal entities, there is a peculiarly short period of time within which to give notice to the school of the intent to sue. This period is only 90 days from the date of the injury, which is a very short period of time indeed. Although Courts will occasionally carve exceptions in certain cases for failure to meet this deadline, more commonly it is strictly adhered to. This is why it is crucial to call a lawyer when your child is injured on school premises if you think the injury was caused by the negligence of school personnel. Failure to do so may bar your child from ever obtaining compensation for their injuries.
Sports-Related Injury Lawsuits
Sports injuries are very difficult cases to pursue. Generally speaking, the Courts in New York are united in holding that injuries that are a natural consequence of the sport, for instance getting a broken nose from a line drive during a softball game constitute assumption of the risk by the athlete. This is often true regardless of the age of the athlete or whether the sport was intramural, or during a regular gym class when the child was required to participate or risk getting a poor grade. Exceptions may be made if the sport wasn’t properly supervised or if the equipment being used was defective and the teacher/coach knew or should have known. If you are wondering whether you have a case, we invite you to contact the firm to discuss your case with Mr. Glassman.
If your child has been injured in a school activity, please call us for a free evaluation: (631) 406-4385