School is supposed to be a safe space. You want to feel secure that your child is in good hands and that their safety is being looked after. And this is almost always the case, but accidents do happen. It may be through negligence or it could be something unavoidable.
Understanding this, it’s what happens after the accident that is very important. In the event that your child is injured, there should be a plan in place to make sure that there are no serious repercussions. Do you have a plan for if you get a call from school that an accident has happened?
In this article, we will go over what to do when your child is injured at school.
Figure out the extent of the injury
Before you call a personal injury lawyer, you need to find out exactly how bad the injury is. Get as much information from the call as possible so you know how to proceed. The most important thing here is that your child is getting the appropriate care according to the type of injury it is.
Before you try to investigate who was at fault for the injury you have to know if you need a hospital or if this is a case when you just need to bring your child home for rest. The school should have a clear protocol in the event of an injury but ask them to go over what they are supposed to do. Is an ambulance required? Was there care given to the child by a certified nurse or healthcare professional on the premise?
Keep detailed records
If you have a moment after the call, make a note of what time the call came in, who you spoke with and what they said. These notes will be very important later if there needs to be legal action taken.
You should also take photos of the injury if it is visible and get a thorough account from your child about what happened. Then make sure to tell the doctor what the child told you and what the school said about the incident. Take note of the time of the call and what the doctor instructed you to do.
Who is responsible?
At the end of the day, the school is ultimately responsible for the safety of your child. If there is an accident then the school is likely responsible for making the situation right.
What needs to be understood is if negligence played a part in the event. If there was some type of equipment that caused the injury because it was not being maintained then this is a clear case of negligence on the part of the school.
If your child was injured by another student and there was no teacher or supervisor present then this would be another clear case of negligence. In either of the cases, then the school will be responsible for taking care of medical bills and other expenses that come up as a result of the injury.
