What if your child is hurt at school?
September 26, 2013
It is every parent’s nightmare. You receive a call from your child’s school telling you that your child has been hurt in an accident. In many cases the injury is relatively minor and your child is back on their feet quickly.
However, sometimes it is a serious injury which can have a negative impact on your child’s future ability to study or work and complete their activities of daily living. In those cases, it is a good idea to investigate a potential lawsuit against the educators or school board responsible for your child at the moment they were injured.
Teachers and school boards owe a legal duty of care towards students in their care. This duty of care is different from an ordinary duty of care because of the nature of the work that teachers and school boards do. Parents are legally obliged to send their children to school until at least age 16 and therefore it is expected that a school will take all reasonable measures to prevent risks of harm to students within the school or while on school trips.
Generally speaking, the standard of care owed by educators to students is that of a reasonably careful or prudent parent. This includes the duty to protect students from any reasonably foreseeable risks of injury.
If your child has been seriously injured while at school, you should consult an experienced personal injury lawyer for advice.
For more information about how the PIA handles a legal case that involves an injured child, please visit: https://pialaw.ca/areas-of-practice/childrens-injuries.
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