Los Angeles School Injury Lawyer

If sending your child to school results in him or her suffering a serious injury due to the negligence of a teacher or a hazardous property condition, your family may be entitled to financial compensation from the school or school district. Speak to a Los Angeles personal injury attorney during a free consultation for more information about your case and legal rights.

Why Choose Rose, Klein & Marias LLP?

We have been representing individuals and families in Southern California since 1936. We have in-depth knowledge of how to handle school-related injury cases in Los Angeles.

Our attorneys have secured more than $5 billion for our clients in premises liability, product liability, slip and fall, wrongful death, and other types of personal injury cases.

We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t pay your school injury attorney anything unless we win your case. We always put the well-being of our clients first.

How Can an Attorney Help?

An experienced attorney can be invaluable if your child suffers a school injury. A lawyer will take immediate steps to connect your family to top doctors, explain your rights, explore your legal options and guide you through the recovery process from start to finish.

You can trust your attorney to determine the cause of your child’s injury and pursue maximum financial compensation through all available legal outlets. Meanwhile, your family can focus on healing from the traumatic event.

What Are Common Examples of School Injuries?

If a school in Los Angeles does not take proper care to ensure the safety of its students, many different accident risks can occur. Severe student injuries can happen in various settings and circumstances, both in and out of the classroom. They may arise from careless teachers and supervisors, defective equipment, or dangerous premises conditions.

Common examples of school accidents and injuries include:

Slip and fall accident injuries
Playground accidents
Broken bones and greenstick fractures
Cuts, abrasions and severe lacerations
Soft-tissue injuries
Muscle sprains and strains
Traumatic brain injuries
Concussions
Spinal cord injuries
Burn injuries
Internal injuries
Sports injuries
Impact injuries
School bus accident injuries
Abuse-related injuries

School accidents can occur on school grounds, such as on the playground or during PE. They can also happen during off-campus school-related activities, such as field trips and sporting events. Finally, school injuries can stem from transportation accidents, such as bus accidents to and from school.

When Can a Personal Injury Claim Be Filed for a School Injury in Los Angeles?

Not every school injury will give the victim or victim’s family the right to file a personal injury claim. To file a claim in LA following a school injury, there must be proof of negligence, or someone’s failure to act with proper care.

Proving negligence requires evidence that the defendant or accused party owed the victim a duty of care, meaning an obligation to keep the victim safe from injury. All schools in California have a legal obligation to ensure the reasonable safety of their students.

Then, there must be proof of a breach or violation of this duty of care, such as negligent property maintenance or poor teacher training protocols. This breach of duty must be the proximate or main cause of the child’s injuries to hold the school or another party accountable.

Who Is Liable for Los Angeles School Injuries?

In Los Angeles, schools can be held liable, or legally and financially responsible, for student injuries and deaths that occur due to their fault or the fault of their employees, such as teachers or bus drivers. If your child was injured at a public school, the school district could be held accountable. At a private school, the owner of the facility is liable, instead.

Your family may have grounds for a claim against any of the following parties after a preventable school accident:

The Los Angeles Unified School District
A private school
A charter school
A boarding school
A military school
School staff, teachers and administrators
A contractor or volunteer
A product manufacturer

If an issue such as a defective piece of playground equipment caused the school injury, you may be eligible to bring a claim against the manufacturer or distributor. Otherwise, the school or a third party may be held responsible. Anyone who breached a duty of care owed to the child could be found liable for student injuries.

How to Hold a Public School Responsible for a Child Injury in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Unified School District has a legal responsibility to follow certain laws and procedures for maintaining safe environments for students within its public schools. If an employee at the school or the school itself failed to keep your child safe, your lawsuit will most likely be against the school district due to vicarious liability laws.

Claims against the government for a public school accident abide by a different set of laws than cases against private parties. For this reason, it is important to hire an attorney for assistance. Government entities are protected from liability under the rule of sovereign immunity, but there are exceptions under the California Tort Claims Act. This includes an exception if someone at the school district was negligent.

Government claims have much shorter statutes of limitations compared to typical personal injury cases. Rather than having two years from the date of the accident (the statute of limitations under California Civil Code of Procedures §335.1), you must file a claim within just six months. You or your lawyer must submit a notice of the claim to the school district to initiate the legal process.

Common Causes of School Injuries in Los Angeles

The average school in Los Angeles can contain many potential injury risks if it is not properly managed or maintained by those responsible. Negligence increases the odds of a serious accident and injury involving a student.

School accidents can occur for a variety of reasons, including:

Inadequate student supervision
Failing to take measures against bullying
Poor maintenance or upkeep of school grounds
Dangerous school buses or negligent bus drivers
Failing to remedy tripping or slipping hazards
Improper teacher and staff training
Defective playground or recreational equipment
Exposing students to hazardous materials
Improper emergency response
Failing to prevent sex crimes against children
Inappropriate or severe punishments

Our attorneys can investigate your child’s accident to determine its cause and identify those at fault. We can preserve and collect evidence, hire experts to testify, and use a range of top-tier legal resources to establish causation and liability in your case.

Why You Need to Hire a Los Angeles School Injury Lawyer

If your child was injured at a school in Los Angeles and you suspect that someone else is responsible, do not wait to contact an attorney. You may need legal assistance to go up against a school and its powerful team of attorneys. Otherwise, an insurance company may take advantage of you to convince you to drop the case or settle for less than your child deserves.

At Rose, Klein & Marias, LLP, we help families hold schools and school districts accountable for negligence-related student injuries in Los Angeles. We recently achieved a $1.625 million verdict against the LA Unified School District for school negligence. Call us at (800) 362-7427 for a free case review.