The Unique Challenges of School Slip and Fall Accidents
Are you familiar with the concept of “in loco parentis?” This Latin term, roughly translating to “in place of the parents” is a legal concept which assigns responsibility over the care and wellbeing of children to relevant adults. We mostly see it employed in daycares and schools. As classes all over America resume, our nation’s teachers and childcare providers find themselves responsible for the development and health of millions of children. The work teachers, administrators, and other school staff do every day to guide our brightest young minds towards a healthy and fulfilling adulthood is absolutely vital and should be respected and appreciated. However, it’s equally vital that children have a safe place to learn. Serious injuries suffered on school grounds may be unfortunate accidents, but they may also be indictive of negligence. Today’s Malloy Law Offices blog post will cover school slip and fall accidents.
School Slip and Fall Accidents: Chaotic Environments and Emergent Hazards
A house full of children, as any parent or babysitter knows, is often chaotic. A school with hundreds of children can be exponentially more chaotic. The average teacher almost certainly has scarcely believable stories about kids finding new and novel ways to create bizarre situations leading to comedy, embarrassment, or, unfortunately, injury.
It’s important to understand that the mere fact that a child was injured at a school does not necessarily mean that there was negligence at play. If anything, these cases are mercifully rare. While parents are naturally protective of their children, and the difficult feelings in the wake of an injury may compel a parent to search for someone to hold accountable, accidents do happen.
Spotting Negligence
So how do we differentiate the bump and grind of “kids being kids” from negligence? To do so, we need a refresher on what exactly “negligence” means in a premises liability (or “slip and fall”) context.
Under premises liability laws, property owners have a duty to inform guests on their property of any hazards present that may result in an injury. The easiest and most common example of this principle in action is a wet floor sign. A custodian or janitor mops a floor, and leaves a sign informing passers by that it may still be slippery. Simple. You’ll often see see wet floor signs in school hallways after lunch or water spills. However, a spill may result in a slip and fall before any school staff can be informed or respond to the mess. This does not constitute negligence, the hazard was not already in place and there is no reasonable way it could have been foreseen.
To recap, a property owner may be seen as negligent if a hazard that was present on the property which the property owner either knew about or should have known about and did not inform guests of.
In the case of a school, common hazards include
- Dilapidated playground equipment
- Damaged sidewalks or floors
- Unsanitary conditions
- Lead or asbestos
The Inherent Challenges in Pursuing Compensation from Public Schools
Public schools are generally considered part of the local or state government. This means they are protected by a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity, which limits the circumstances under which they can be sued. Many states (including Maryland and Virginia) have waived this immunity in certain cases, but only under strict conditions.
Most states have special notice of claim requirements for lawsuits against government entities, including public schools. These are often much shorter than standard personal injury timelines.
- For example, in Maryland, you typically must file notice within one year of the injury under the Maryland Tort Claims Act.
- In Virginia, notice for claims against local government (such as a school board) may need to be filed within six months.
You’ll need evidence such as:
- Incident reports
- Surveillance footage
- Witness statements
- Maintenance logs
Because schools often have internal procedures and risk management policies, getting this evidence quickly is key. All these factors combined mean that acting fast and getting experienced legal help is essential.
How Malloy Law Can Help
If you or a loved one has been injured in school slip and fall accidents, Malloy Law can help. Our experienced team of attorneys will evaluate your case free of charge with the aid of our dedicated support staff. Malloy Law is built from the ground up to win compensation for our clients. We don’t settle for insufficient compensation which neglects the lasting consequences of a serious injury. Contact Malloy Law today and let’s win your case.