Although elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities try to maintain safe environments for students to learn and grow, unfortunate accidents do still happen from time to time. Even though children and teens sometimes make poor choices, many Illinois school-related accidents can be prevented when school systems and their employees take simple, reasonable, and appropriate actions to help students avoid injury.
In many instances, public schools can be protected from premises liability because of government immunity. However, because laws vary on a state-by-state basis, there are some exceptions to public school premises liability. These exceptions include: wrongful death cases, school bullying cases, serious injury incidents, and sexual harassment cases.
Examples of Common School-Related Accidents Include:
- Playground injuries from defective, faulty, or poorly maintained equipment
- Sports accidents from a lack of necessary protective gear, poor coaching, or defective equipment or apparatus
- Science laboratory accidents from chemical spills, sharp scalpels, Bunsen burner flames, and toxic fumes
- Wood shop and industrial arts accidents from sharp power tools, wood dust, lack of protective eyewear, or inadequate instruction concerning tool use
- Home Economics kitchen accidents can be caused by hot ovens and various cooking ingredients, cleaning chemicals, or sharp scissors.
- Slip and fall accidents on wet floors, stairs, or bleachers
Locking doors to unsupervised classrooms that tend to be more dangerous is one simple step that school employees can take to help prevent unnecessary accidents from occurring. Making sure that athletic coaches and classroom teachers are properly trained and skilled enough to teach students is also the school’s responsibility. Lastly, schools should have clearly posted warning signs explaining safety rules and potential dangers, and have supervision available to ensure youth are following those rules.
If you or someone you love has suffered injuries from a Chicago school-related accident, the school system could be held responsible for the accident that caused you harm. Our qualified Chicago premises liability lawyers at Lane Brown can examine your case, answer your questions, and determine whether you have grounds to take legal action. Call our Chicago personal injury lawyers at 1-312-332-1400 today to get the help you’re looking for.
