NYC School Accident Lawyer
If your child got hurt while at school in NYC, it’s important to make sure that you fully understand your legal rights and options. If their injury happened because the school, a teacher, or a caregiver was negligent, you might be able to hold them accountable. The experienced NYC school accident lawyers at Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C. can help you fight to get the money your family needs and deserve. We’ve been standing up on behalf of families like yours for more than four decades, and we’ll gladly stand up for you, too.
Our NYC law firm offers a free initial case assessment, so contact our team to schedule yours today. We’re always standing by to take your call – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
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How Will a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me if My Child Was Injured at School?
You shouldn’t have to worry endlessly about your child’s safety when you send them off to school for the day. The administration, teachers, and staff are there, in large part, to provide a safe learning environment for all students. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Children can get seriously hurt as a direct consequence.
When a child is injured due to the school’s negligence, families can be entitled to seek compensation. However, schools and their insurance companies will do everything they can to deny responsibility. You’ll need a qualified NYC personal injury lawyer with experience handling school accident cases on your side if you want to maximize your recovery.
At Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C., we appreciate how devastating an accident can be when it involves a child. The consequences of that accident can have ripple effects throughout the child’s life. That’s why we’ll go above and beyond to hold the negligent school and/or caretaker fully accountable for their actions.
When you call us for help after your child gets hurt at school, you can expect us to:
- Investigate the accident to determine causation and liability
- Comb through any relevant evidence, including video footage, photographs, and accident reports
- Interview teachers, caretakers, staff, and anyone else who might have witnessed the accident
- Determine if accidents like this have happened at the school in the past and, if so, what the school has done to address the problem, and
- Negotiate with school administration and insurance companies on your behalf.
We want to secure money for you in the shortest amount of time possible. So, we’ll work hard to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf. However, we will not hesitate to take your school injury case to a jury if we think that insurance companies aren’t offering to pay you enough. Our award-winning trial attorneys thrive in the courtroom. We’ll pull out all the stops to maximize your financial award.
We Handle All School Accidents in New York City
It doesn’t matter how or why your child got hurt at school. Our NYC personal injury attorneys will aggressively pursue compensation form the school and any other liable parties. We represent families of children who were injured at school due to:
- Poisoning
- Accidents involving dangerous materials, including scissors or knives
- Electrocution caused by unprotected outlets
- Inadequate supervision
- Negligent security
- Slips and falls
- Being discharged to someone other than the child’s parent
- Bullying
- Assaults and fights
- Sexual assault
- School trip accidents
- School bus accidents
- Swimming pool accidents, and more.
As you can see, school accidents can encompass a lot of different things, ranging from a small child finding a bottle of bleach on the floor to a high school student getting sexually assaulted by a teacher. Our law firm is prepared to help you pursue compensation and hold anyone responsible for your child’s injury fully accountable. Just give us a call today to schedule a time to discuss your case with our team.
Grounds for Filing a School Accident Lawsuit in NYC
Schools are entrusted with the care of its students. In order to make sure that kids are safe, certain precautions must be taken. When these things don’t happen, accidents can happen and kids can get hurt. Here are some reasons you might have a legitimate claim for damages after a school accident in New York City.
Inadequate Supervision: Schools have to ensure that there is an appropriate ratio of students to adults. When adults become outnumbered, it’s difficult to ensure that children are properly monitored.
Premises Liability: Schools have an obligation to make sure that the physical premises are safe. So, staff must regularly inspect the premises for potential hazards and hidden dangers. For a school with young children, it would be important to cover electrical outlets, hide toxic chemicals, and keep dangerous equipment out of reach. When a school fails to inspect for and fix hazards, it can be liable for resulting injuries.
Negligent Hiring: There are certain people who just shouldn’t work with kids. That’s why schools have to conduct background checks before bringing on a new employee. If a school skips this critical step, it opens itself up to liability if anything involving that new hire goes wrong.
Negligent Security: If your child’s school in a dangerous neighborhood or if there’s a lot of violence in the area, the school has to take certain steps to minimize the chances of a student getting hurt. Many schools now install metal detectors and hire security guards as a precaution. If your school didn’t, and your child was injured by reasonably foreseeable third party conduct, the school might be responsible.
Who’s Liable For My Child’s Injuries After a School Accident in NYC?
Simply put, anyone who causes your child to get hurt at school can be held accountable. Under New York’s comparative negligence rules, fault is divided up between everyone who shares the blame. The bigger someone’s role, the greater their liability. After a New York City school accident, you could potentially recover damages from:
- The school
- The school district
- The board of education
- Administration
- Teachers
- Staff members
- Bus drivers
- Chaperones, or
- Coaches.
At Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C., our priority will be in determining why your child was injured and who is responsible. We’ll conduct a thorough investigation to find the answers to these questions. Once we’ve identified responsible parties, we’ll fight to hold them accountable and secure the compensation you deserve.
Damages Available to Families and Students After a New York City School Accident
Just because your child is young doesn’t mean that the costs of an unexpected accident at school will be small. So, it’s important to consider legal action against all negligent parties. When you file an injury claim or personal injury lawsuit, you can potentially recover damages for your child’s:
- Present and future expenses for medical care
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disability or reduced earning capacity
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and more.
Our team will bring in leading experts from across New York City to help us determine what your school accident case is worth. These experts – including medical doctors, mental health professionals, and vocational authorities – can provide important insight into the extent of your child’s injuries. Ultimately, we’ll do our best to determine how those injuries might affect them down the line. This information can help us accurately assess the value of your case and strengthen our demands for compensation.
Statute of Limitations for School Accident Lawsuits in NYC
For most personal injury cases in New York, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of injury. The clock begins to run the moment someone discovers that they’ve been hurt. When parents file a school accident injury claim on behalf of an injured child, they must do so within this three-year timeframe.
Under New York state law, children do not typically have the capacity to file a legal action. In order to account for that, the state says that the statute of limitations can be tolled – or paused – until a child turns 18. If an injured child’s parents didn’t file a claim or lawsuit, the child can do so once they’re an adult. When a child turns 18, they’ll have two years to pursue compensation on their own.
You’ll lose out on valuable compensation if the clock runs out before you’ve filed a claim for damages. So, it’s critical to speak with an attorney immediately after an accident at school. The skilled attorneys at Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C. can get to work on your case as soon as you ask for our help.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our NYC School Accident Lawyers
Is your child struggling with injuries or emotional trauma after an accident at school? Contact Mirman, Markovits & Landau, P.C. to discuss your legal rights. You may be entitled to comepnsation from the school, a caregiver, or anyone who allowed your child to get hurt. Our New York school accident lawyers will do everything possible to secure a substantial monetary award on your behalf.
Your initial consultation is free, so give our NYC law office a call to schedule yours today. We proudly represent clients in and around New York City, including Brooklyn, the Bronx, Long Island, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, and Westchester.