Field trips are fun — unless your child gets hurt.
Field trips are a rite of passage for school children across the country. Each year, kids often have the ability to go on a learning adventure with their class field trips. These excursions can be a lot of fun — but they can also present danger.
At school, your child is in a secure, familiar environment. Children are typically kept away from traffic and other potential hazards, and they are closely supervised by a network of professionals. On field trips, kids are often in a public place with new potential dangers. Teachers and other chaperones may have difficulty supervising a large number of kids in a crowded place, which may ultimately lead to your child suffering an injury while on a field trip.
So what can you do if your child is hurt while on a field trip? The first obstacle is often a large one: many times, parents are required to sign a waiver before their child can attend a field trip. These waivers are typically quite broad, exempting the school from any liability in the event that one of the children gets hurt. However, if the school or its employees is found to be grossly negligent or reckless, then the waiver can often be overcome. This may happen when the school fails to take even the most basic safety precautions to prevent injury. For example, if the school did not set up a system for keeping track of children and failed to do a headcount before leaving the field trip location, then that could be considered grossly negligent and a basis for liability.
If your child attends a public school, then there may also be laws that limit recovering for injuries. There are typically special rules that must be followed to successfully sue a government entity, such as a school or school district. An experienced personal injury attorney will understand these rules and carefully comply with them to file a suit against the school as long as you are not barred from doing so by law.
There is also the potential that the place where the students visited was ultimately responsible for your child’s injuries. For example, if liquid was spilled on the floor of the museum where your child has his or her field trip, and the museum staff knew and failed to clean it up, it could be held responsible for any injuries that resulted. A skilled personal injury attorney can analyze the facts of your particular case to determine if there is a basis to sue a person, entity, or organization other than the school, such as the bus company that did not do a background check on a bus driver who caused an accident.
If your child has been hurt while on a field trip, you will need an experienced personal injury attorney to help you recover for your losses and allow your child get the treatment that he or she needs. The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker offer highly skilled representation to injured people, including parents of children injured at school or on field trips. Contact our office today at 800-333-0000 or info@larryhparker.com to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how we can help you if your child has gotten hurt while on a field trip. We never charge a fee unless we get money for you!
