Miami Personal Injury Lawyer for School Accidents

Atendemos a la Comunidad Hispana

All sorts of accidents occur at schools. And though many school accidents involve sports and recreational activities, many of which almost impossible to avoid, many other accidents that takes place at schools can be prevented by school staff and operators. Jonathan Perazzo, father and founder at the Perazzo Law Firm, understands the different types of accidents that occur at schools. That's why, parents and legal guardians of children attending a school in cities such as Miami, Kissimmee, Hialeah, etc., need to know that there are premises liability laws aimed to safeguard the wellbeing of all those that attend, visit, or work at Florida schools.  

Sport Related Physical Injuries - Contact sports such as football, soccer, basketball, and baseball, which are common in schools are practically inevitable. However, some injuries can be linked to negligence on behalf of school operators. Playing fields, for example, must be adequately prepared and properly maintained. A football or soccer field may have metal fencing which a student will try to climb over to retrieve a ball. Sometimes metal fencing have sharp, pointy, edges that can cause serious personal injury to students. A basketball court for example, a school gym, auditorium, playground, yard, etc., must be safe to students that take part in regular activities. Slippery substances such as water from leaky ceilings or spilled beverages must not be left unattended to during practice or game time. There are other situations in which school kids are injured during sporting activities. One such case involves a student that was sitting in the stands of the school gym with a group of classmates. There were other kids throwing footballs and other kicking soccer balls during free time. The teachers were sitting at a table, each of them looking up at their cell phones as the kids in the gym had fun. Suddenly, a soccer ball went astray and entered the stands, hitting one of the students in the face, breaking his glasses and causing facial injuries. The child's parents filed an insurance claim through a personal injury lawyer and the child was compensated for the injuries he sustained, which included partial loss of sight in one of his eyes from the impact of the ball that caused his glasses to break. Situations such as these are common  when adult supervision is lacking when school kids have nobody watching what they do. 

Cuts, Scrapes, Lacerations - Sharp objects such as metal fencing, wiring, electric cabling, and other installations, may sometimes cause injury to school students and those taking part in sports recreation. It's common for students to climb over fencing to retrieve balls gone astray. Sometimes the top of metal fencing may be sharp and cause cuts or lacerations. Sometimes, when a person tries to hop over a fence, their fingers, hands, or feet may get caught in the spaces in between the fencing and this can lead to a fall. Sometimes, a person's fingers can get stuck or caught on pointy edges, which can lead to tears in the finger nerves, result in stitches and possible surgery. Stiches, as well as any other kind of hand surgery to repair nerve damage can cause loss in range of motion in flexion and extension, with these kinds of injuries considered permanent. Permanent injuries also cause mental trauma when there is scarring on the hands, neck, or face. Modern fashion is a huge concern given that many teenagers may wear accessories that can cause injury. Such accessories that can lead to personal injury include:

Slip & Fall Accidents - whenever a walking surfaced is soiled with a substance that can cause a student to slip, it must be attended to by school staff, especially staff that is hired to keep walking surfaces safe. Soiled surfaces can include staircases, which can be wet from spilled beverages. Loose or missing handrails can lead to a slip and fall accident at a school, which has kids hurrying down staircases, which can become wet due to leaky ceilings or spilled beverages. Poor lighting or signaling can also be the cause of slip and fall accidents at a school, especially in auditoriums where lights are usually dim. 

Bumps, Bruises, Breaks - during recess, kids will run and play games. Many times, supervision by teachers and staff fails, mainly because recess is a time for teachers to also relax. In today's high tech world of smartphones, a teacher or supervisor may be distracted by social media updates or text messages received or written. Smartphones and social media are the number one cause of negligence among people that should be paying attention to what is happening around them. A teacher may not notice a child in a potential harmful situation because he or she was too busy checking the latest Instagram post. It happens. One such incident occurred not long ago when several children were jumping rope. The jump rope turned into a hangman's noose and one small child almost died of strangulation after a couple other children tried to hang him. The teacher was not aware of the situation until a classmate notified the teacher of what was happening. The child survived, but suffered lacerations and injury to the neck area.     

School Bus Accidents - a vast variety of accidents occur when bus drivers and supervisors are negligent. This can include leaving a child that has fallen asleep behind, causing or being involved in a motor vehicle accident. School bus accidents are quite common, as driving has become increasingly dangerous over time, especially with the number of motorists that are distracted by negligent cell phone use behind the wheel. Furthermore, many motorists fail to respect the school bus warning and safety lights when stopped to pick up or drop off school children. Seatbelts, well maintained and properly equipped school buses are important for preventing injury in the event of school bus accident that may result in injury to school children or faculty members.