School or School Bus Negligence Attorney
Thousands of hours are spent by our teenagers and children at school and in school-related activities. It can be a scary thought knowing that our children are placed in danger in the very location we expect is the safest for them. Daycare centers, school buses, and schools are all expected to exercise a very high level of care when our children are under their supervision. Although in general schools are given some degree of immunity, the people in charge may be liable for injury or harm to our children when they are being supervised by them.
However, sooner or later, accidents are inevitable. Children can sprain their ankles in physical education classes or fall down a flight of stairs. If your child is injured while under school employee supervision, and supervisory negligence may have occurred, you might be eligible to file a personal injury case. Also, you might be able to recover losses that are caused by:
- Fights at school
- Insufficient security
- Defective playground conditions (e.g. gravel or holes)
- Dangerous playground equipment
Our Nevada School or School Bus Negligence Attorneys and legal assistants are available to help you evaluate your legal options and obtain the compensation that you and your entire family need and deserve.
Schools and daycare facilities are responsible for protecting students. Schools can also, unfortunately, pose a number of safety hazards.
The following are some of the types of school accidents that can occur:
- A ladder is left in the hallway by a custodian, and a student trips over it and breaks her or his ankle.
- A railing is loose and causes a senior high school student to fall down a flight of stairs. She suffers permanent nerve damage due to a spinal cord injury and ends up losing her scholarship for playing softball at a major university.
- A school under construction has pathways that are uneven and not clearly marked with colored paint or caution tape. One of the students trips and falls and suffers a gash on her face, and breaks her hand and several facial bones.
- A child is playing a sport in his physical education class and sustains a concussion due to the teacher not requiring him to wear the proper safety gear.
School Bus Accidents
It is also common for school bus accidents to occur. Every year, in fact, around 17,000 children become injured in a school bus accident. Those injuries most often occur when school buses are involved in accidents with other vehicles or when children are getting on or off a bus. A majority of school buses do not have safety belts, and so children are particularly vulnerable to becoming injured when falling out of their seats during a sudden, sharp turn or during a crash.
In Nevada, whenever a child is killed or injured in a school bus accident due to the negligence of the bus driver, the claim that the child and parents have against the bus driver is limited There are similar restrictions that apply to those diving other vehicles as well as for pedestrians who become injured due to a school bus driver’s negligence. Since the driver is an employee of the government, under the sovereign immunity principle, the individual has immunity from lawsuits for their acts of simple negligence. However, they can be held liable for gross negligence acts. This refers to a degree of negligence showing an utter disregard of caution and complete indifference that results in the complete neglect of another person’s safety. Sometimes, gross negligence is referred to as recklessness.
The school board, by contrast, does not have the same defense of sovereign immunity warranted that its drivers have. A school board might be held liable for a bus driver’s acts of simple negligence. Therefore, filing a claim against a school board might be easier than against the negligent school bus driver. There is a cap on damages in Clark County in NRS 41.035 where awards are limited to a maximum of $100,000. It is different in neighboring states such as California where there is no cap on damages brought against County entities.
At Hinds Injury Law Las Vegas, our attorneys can assist you with working through all of the legal steps that apply to your individual case. If you think a school board or school is responsible for the injuries that your child has suffered, it is important to hold them accountable. Our experienced lawyers can help you hold the parties accountable who are at fault for your child’s injuries and the emotional trauma and physical injuries it has caused. You could be entitled to receive compensation for:
- Lost income from needing to take time off from work
- Hospital bills
- Counseling
- Special devices (e.g. wheelchair, crutches, etc.)
- Tutoring that your child needs due to having missed time at school
Since evidence can disappear fast and claims must be filed within certain time limits, it is critical to get in touch with our Nevada personal injury attorneys right away to learn what legal options are available to you. Call us at (702) 940-1234 or contact us online today.
For more information on how https://hindsinjurylawlasvegas.com/ can help you with School Bus Accident, please contact us at (702) 940-1234, or visit us here:
Hinds Injury Law Las Vegas
600 S 8th St Suite 140, Las Vegas, NV 89101
