Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
According to a recent article from WJCL, an 11-year-old girl has a brain injury that is believed to be the result of another student throwing a football at her face. Victim’s father said he was aware his child was a victim of other children bullying her, and had notified the school of his concerns for her safety prior to her being permanently injured.
He said he had even sent the school over 20 separate emails concerned with his daughter’s safety from school bullies and made some attempts to fix the situation, but he wishes more had been done by everyone involved, including himself.
In this serious incident, her father alleges another child intentionally threw a football at his daughter’s face. She came home from school feeling lightheaded, and he took her the doctor for an examination. Doctors soon learned she had a rare disorder known as intracranial hypertension. While doctors cannot say her alleged assault was the definitive cause of her traumatic brain injury, there is a high probability, since it typically a result of head trauma.
She is currently losing vision in one eye and may go permanently blind, even if she has a risky surgery to correct the issue. Intracranial hypertension involves the skull putting pressure on the optic nerve, causing blindness to occur.
As school injury attorneys in Boston can explain, schools and other daycare facilities have a responsibility to keep your child safe and take reasonable steps to prevent serious personal injuries from occurring. Some of these steps involve proper training and supervision of staff. Other steps involve having cameras and other monitoring equipment present, so school officials can quickly respond in the event an accident occurs.
One of the most important aspects, and most heavily litigated, is whether school or daycare officials knew or should have known your child was at risk. In a case where parent specifically warned school officials of predictable accident or injury, your attorney may be able to use this to prove your personal injury case.
One of the best things you can do is make sure you keep a record of any attempts you make to notify daycare personnel of a risk you are concerned about. The more detailed evidence you can provide to your attorney, the better your chances are to a successful outcome in your case.
The specific claims in negligence cases will vary, as the facts are never the same, but typical claims include negligent supervision, negligent retention of employees, failure to properly train employees, and, in some cases involving actual abuse by daycare workers, assault and battery claims, which are intentional torts.
Even in cases where a daycare worker intentionally injuries a child, the employer may be liable under the doctrine of respondiat superior. Respondiat superior is cause of action against an employer for negligent or intentional conduct committed by an employee. The reason employers are often held responsible is due to employers being in a better position to fully compensate a victim, because they typically have more assets and adequate insurance to cover torts committed by employees.
If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury in the Greater Boston area, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, LLC for a free consultation to discuss your claim. Call (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Millions Slip in Restaurants Each Year. How You Can Stay Safe from a Boston Slip and Fall, Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, December 28, 2012.