When playing sports, there is inherent risk involved. Naturally, everyone who takes the field during a football, baseball, or hockey game knows these activities carry an increased risk of suffering a concussion, but often the physical, mental, and social benefits of participating in a team sport outweigh these potential downfalls. There are also many things schools, coaches, and other organizations can do to help protect the young people on their teams and keep them safe from injury, such as making sure they have the proper equipment and encouraging proper practice and training.
However, sometimes schools and other organizations fail to do everything in their power to protect the well-being of the young people on their sports teams, and in these instances, you may be able to pursue litigation. This is particularly true in the case of children. When a minor child is at school, the institution acts in loco parentis, meaning they are acting in place of the parent and assuming legal responsibility for the child. This means it is the school's responsibility to protect your child and keep them safe when you are not present.
If the negligence of your child's school, community, or college sports program has caused them to suffer a head injury, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim by proving that this injury could have been avoided. The first step in pursuing litigation is contacting an attorney. Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and his team at the Lento Law Firm have years of experience advising families in personal injury cases against schools. Don't let your child pay the price for someone else's negligence. Contact the Lento Law Firm today to start fighting for your rights.
What Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
As we mentioned before, sports injuries are part of the game. Particularly in rough contests like football that involve physical contact, sometimes injuries simply cannot be avoided and are no one's fault. However, in certain circumstances, families may be able to sue a school or sports organization following an injury to their child. After a head injury in particular, emotions can be high – these types of injuries are typically the most devastating and can have the farthest-reaching consequences in other areas of a child's academic and personal life.
For example, severe head injuries can prevent a child from living the same type of life as they did before and may even require long-term or lifelong care. This can be expensive and difficult for families to cover without financial assistance. If your school or sports organization is responsible for your child's sports-related head injury, you may be able to sue for damages. While this won't right the wrong or undo the harm that has been done, compensation can help relieve the financial burden of families who are struggling in the wake of a tragedy. Whether filing a personal injury lawsuit will be possible in your case depends on your unique circumstances.
Typically schools can be held responsible for a head injury if they fail to prevent foreseeable harm. Some examples of this may include if a coach allowed a player to return to the field after a particularly rough tackle, if a coach knew a player's helmet or other protective equipment was faulty or ill-fitting, or if there were known hazards present on the field, but play was allowed to continue. The key to successfully suing a school is being able to prove that officials or coaches were aware of potential threats to players' safety and that they failed to take appropriate and timely action to keep everyone safe from harm.
Because schools are acting in loco parentis, they are responsible for doing what they can to prevent foreseeable injury, such as maintaining a safe environment in their buildings, on campus, on school buses, at school-sponsored events, and during extracurricular activities such as sports. This means that if your child suffered a head injury while playing sports and you believe the injury could have been prevented by a coach or other official taking reasonable action to remove hazardous conditions, you could have grounds to file a personal injury lawsuit. It is important, however, to always consult an experienced legal advisor before moving forward.
When to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Against a School
When your child suffers a head injury, it can be easy – and completely understandable – to want to find someone to blame. You may want to lash out at anyone and everyone who will listen – but whether you are able to sue your school depends on the circumstances of the injury, particularly how it occurred and whether it was preventable. Here are examples of different types of head injuries that may occur, as well as some types of circumstances that may allow a family to potentially pursue litigation:
- Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are the most common type of head injury. Concussions occur when the brain is shaken hard enough to make contact with the skull and can range from mild to severe.
- Contusions are bruises on the brain itself and can also cause bleeding and swelling.
- Intracranial hematoma is bleeding in the brain that forms a clot. Like concussions, they can range from mild to severe.
- Skull fractures occur when the head is hit hard enough to crack the bone. This can also cause bleeding and other types of injury to the brain.
Head injuries can be extremely devastating for children and their families – sometimes even more than other types of sports injuries, as they can permanently impact a child's personality and ability to pursue an independent and successful future.
If your child has suffered one of the head injuries described above, when can you sue?
As mentioned previously, successfully suing a school for a sports-related head injury requires proof that schools or coaches were intentionally negligent by failing to provide safe conditions for play. Some examples of this may include:
- Negligence: If your child suffered a head injury while playing a sport but was allowed to return to the field – and then they injured themselves again, you may have a case. Negligence could also include not removing an injured player, forcing a child to play, not providing appropriate safety equipment, requiring children to play in excessive cold or heat, or not providing sufficient food, water, or breaks.
- Violence: Some sports, like football and hockey, are inherently physical, but allowing excessive fighting on the field that results in the injury of a player may be grounds for a lawsuit.
- Defective Equipment: If any type of equipment or gear your child uses while playing a sport is defective or faulty, you may be able to sue. This includes things like helmets, padding, mouth guards, cleats, and anything else that a child may reasonably require to safely participate in an activity.
- Hazards in the Environment: If the field were unsafe in some way – perhaps there were potholes present, or the playing surface had been otherwise damaged by weather or improper maintenance – and a child suffered a head injury due to these hazards, this could be grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.
It may be difficult to prove that a school or sports organization is responsible for these types of negligence. Coaches or officials can plead ignorance, for example, or claim a student-athlete passed concussion examinations when in fact, they did not. That's why it is always smart to contact an experienced legal advisor such as Joseph D. Lento before taking legal action. The legal team at the Lento Law Firm knows what types of evidence are needed to pursue litigation and can guide you through this process.
Barriers to Personal Injury Litigation
If your child has suffered a head injury while playing sports, you understandably want to hold the school or sports organization responsible – after all, it was their job to keep your child safe in your absence. However, there are significant challenges to suing a school, one being sovereign immunity. This rule exempts government agencies from being sued in most cases – and this includes public schools. While sovereign immunity can make it harder to sue a school, it is certainly not impossible – and exemptions to this rule are different depending on where you live and the specific circumstances of your case.
Because state laws can determine when and how you are able to sue a public school, consulting a knowledgeable attorney-advisor can help you determine how to proceed. First, you will need to figure out if you are eligible for an exemption in your personal injury case regarding your child's sports-related head injury. Then you will want to find out the timeline you need to follow while fulfilling the various steps and requirements of the legal process, as this can be strict and varies depending on where you live. To ensure you are meeting all deadlines and correctly adhering to all procedures, it is smart to consult a legal expert as soon as possible when suing a school.
How to File a Lawsuit Against a School
Depending on where you live, the process for suing your school will vary. Typically, the first step involves filing a notice of claim, which details the nature of the injury, how the incident occurred, and the compensation requested. At this stage, you should not discuss who is at fault for the injury. The primary purpose of this notice is to make the school aware of your intention to initiate a lawsuit and pursue a claim for damages. If you do not submit this notice prior to the filing deadline – generally within a few months of the date of the incident – odds are you will not be able to pursue litigation and achieve the justice you and your child deserve.
After you have filed your notice of claim, the school will investigate the incident and how the head injury to your child occurred. This can be a lengthy process, as the school wants to look at all of the facts and evidence to appropriately determine what happened and who is at fault. Before taking any next steps in your personal injury lawsuit, you must allow the school to reply to the claim. Incorrectly handling this part of the process can derail your whole lawsuit, so it is important to speak with an attorney-advisor first. They will make sure you meet all necessary deadlines and have the best chance at an optimal outcome in your case.
Why You Need an Attorney
As we've mentioned before, it is extremely challenging to sue a school – and it is also extremely important to ensure all documents are correctly filed in a timely manner. There are numerous barriers in place to protect schools and other public entities from litigation, and your school likely has a team of legal experts at its disposal. If your child has suffered a sports-related head injury at any level of school – from elementary to NCAA – or in an extracurricular club, you deserve top-tier legal counsel. Don't be one of the many families that have lost winnable cases due to mistakes and oversights. An attorney-advisor can provide you with the legal expertise you need to avoid common errors and have the best chance at a successful lawsuit.
Experienced legal counsel can also be your voice and confidant during what is undoubtedly a stressful time in your family's lives. An attorney-advisor can handle the difficult and grueling work required to hold the school responsible for your child's head injury, such as gathering evidence, documenting injuries, speaking with witnesses, and filling out and filing paperwork. You and your child have enough to handle with the stress and trauma of the injury on top of medical appointments and recovery. An attorney-advisor can handle the legal aspects of your case so you can keep your mind on what really matters.
Your Experienced Attorney
Sports-related head injuries can instantly and permanently change a child's life. While the painful rehabilitation, overwhelming medical expenses, and lengthy recovery times associated with many head injuries can be devastating enough, the knowledge that your child's suffering could have been prevented is perhaps the toughest pill to swallow. If your child has suffered a head injury while playing sports at school or while participating in another organization, don't hesitate to contact an experienced legal expert today. Having someone on your side who knows the law can make or break your personal injury case.
Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and his team at the Lento Law Firm are here for you. They have helped many families through difficult times similar to what you are experiencing now, and he is ready to use his vast experience in personal injury law across the country to help you achieve the best outcome in your case and maximize your recovery. Contact attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 to schedule a consultation today.
