Most school fights don't lead to major injuries. However, a nasty school fight can leave your child with critical injuries that require medical care. In such a case, you will want the person responsible for the injuries to pay. These questions will help you determine whether the school is one of the liable parties for the fight.

What Does the Law Say?

States and school districts have laws and regulations that determine how schools should behave in different situations. These laws and regulations include measures schools should take in case a fight breaks up between students. Thus, the first step is to determine what the law says in case a fight breaks out in school.

Here are some common measures most schools use:

• Assessing aggressive situations and managing them to prevent fights
• Ordering students to stop fighting
• Dispersing crowds of onlookers
• Avoiding physical involvement by teachers
• Using trained security personal to break up fights

The rules and regulations may vary by jurisdiction. Learn about the rules and regulations your school district has adopted.

What Happened?

The next step is to find out exactly what happened. Specifically, you need to find out:

• The students involved in the fight
• The instigator of the violence
• The measures the school took to stop the fight

You can find out about all these by talking to the school representatives or other adults (such as security personnel) who witnesses the fight. The school's security cameras may also provide you with the footage you can use to learn more about the fight.

In cases of serious fights, schools can call the local authorities. In such a case, the local police department may also shed more light on the matter because they will have a report on it.

What Did the School Do?

Lastly, you can compare the school's response to the rules and regulations governing such situations. Such a comparison will help you learn whether the school responded appropriately to stop or end the fight. If the school's actions were inadequate, then you can lodge an injury claim against them.

Consider a case where a fight breaks out in a classroom, but the teacher in charge orders the students out to sort their mess. That would be a clear dereliction of duty on the teacher's part. The school, being the teacher's employer, would be vicariously liable for the damages a student might suffer in such a fight.

A school fight claim is likely to have multiple defendants. The school, the students involved in the fight, the parents of the student, and even the teachers at the school can all be liable. Your personal injury lawyer will help you identify all the liable parties so that your child can get the compensation they deserve.

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