Understanding School Liability for Injuries Sustained During Field Trips

A field trip should provide a child with the opportunity to learn in a dynamic and interactive environment. However, depending on the nature of a field trip, there is sometimes the potential for children to sustain injuries during such outings.

Has your child been injured during a school field trip in Massachusetts or the surrounding states? If so, they may be eligible for financial compensation. The following guide will help you better understand liability issues when school field trips result in injury to students.

How Consent Waivers Affect School Field Trip Liability

You may have had to sign a liability waiver before allowing your child to participate in a school field trip. These types of waivers often come in two forms:

• General consent waivers: As the name implies, this type of waiver involves providing general consent to allow your child to go on a field trip. Although it may technically involve waiving the right to pursue compensation in the event that your child is harmed, that doesn’t always mean you can’t take legal action when your child is hurt due to negligence.
• Informed consent waivers: Some field trips involve inherent risks. An informed consent waiver should provide parents or guardians with information about the risks a field trip may involve. Signing the waiver indicates you understand the risks and are allowing your child to participate in the field trip.

You might assume you don’t have grounds to take action against a school when you’ve signed a waiver. However, there may be exceptions when a child is injured due to unreasonable negligence. Additionally, a school isn’t the only party that might be liable for field trip injuries.

Was your child hurt while on a field trip for which you signed a waiver? Strongly consider reviewing the waiver with a legal professional. An attorney can go over the facts of the case and determine whether you may nevertheless have the right to file a claim or lawsuit.

Potential Liable Parties When a Child is Injured on a School Field Trip

A school isn’t the only party that may be responsible for compensating you/your child when injuries occur on a field trip. The liable party can depend on how a child was injured. Consider the following examples:

• Perhaps your child is hurt while traveling on a bus to a field trip. The bus company may be liable in these circumstances. Or, if another motorist caused the accident, they may be liable. Other potentially liable parties include those responsible for maintaining the bus fleet or even the manufacturers/designers of defective parts if a defect caused the accident.
• Maybe your child is injured on someone else’s property during a field trip because the property owner failed to take steps to address hazardous conditions. The property owner or manager might be liable in this case.
• An activity during a field trip may have involved using a defective or unreasonably dangerous product. If a defective or dangerous product caused your child to sustain field trip injuries, the product’s designers or manufacturers could be liable.

Again, depending on the circumstances, the school itself could also remain liable, along with individual school employees. A legal professional can review your case and explain who may be liable based on its unique details and factors.

Compensation Available for a Child’s Field Trip Injuries

If you have the right to seek compensation for your child’s injuries after a field trip, you can pursue said compensation by filing a lawsuit or a claim with the liable party’s insurance. Be aware, a deadline will apply to filing a lawsuit, so you need to take action fast to avoid waiving your right to compensation.

The compensation for which your child may be eligible can cover the cost of their medical bills. If your child’s injuries are serious enough to require long-term care, compensation can also address future medical costs. Compensation may even be available for non-economic losses and struggles, such as any pain and suffering your child had to endure as a result of their injuries.

Every case is different. One of the best ways to find out what types of compensation may be available in your case is to review the matter with a Boston personal injury attorney with experience handling similar cases. That’s exactly what you’ll find at Swartz & Swartz, P.C. For more information about what we can do for you, contact us online today or call us at (617) 742-1900 for your free consultation.

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If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.