Liability Issues in School

How many times have we taken risks in schools? Risks can subject us to unwanted consequences — unwanted PR, injury to staff, students, or patrons, and potentially devastating lawsuits. Read and consider the following actual scenarios. Contribute a detailed scenario with which you are aware (no identifying names, please) that either created a liability issue for the school or could have done so. What risk management policies were in place to help prevent the incident from occurring? What techniques, policies, or training might have been used to avoid or mitigate the situation?

I know of a situation where the kitchen was allowed to be used for a spaghetti dinner. Policy dictated that a school cafeteria worker had to be present at any event where the kitchen was used. The policy was being followed but there were several volunteers cooking and serving spaghetti. Two workers decided to move a 4-gallon pot of boiling water from the stove to a work table when a pot holder slipped causing the pot to fall to the floor and send scalding hot water spraying everywhere. Several ladies received severe burns to their legs and arms.

In another case, a middle school used a 4” single metal pipe as a gate to prevent through-traffic on school grounds after hours. Each morning a custodian would open the gates securing them to a post. One morning it was raining hard and was very windy. The custodian, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary, unlocked the gate and pushed it back toward the post but did not secure it with a chain. Parents started arriving to drop their children off at school. The wind blew the gate only partially closed so that it extended into the drive at a 45-degree angle. In the driving rain a parent apparently did not see the end of the gate in the driveway and ran into it. The height of the gate was such that it entered the windshield and killed the driver nearly decapitating her.

A building trades instructor would follow the bus carrying students to the worksite in his personal vehicle. The bus would return to the school and
return to the site 3 hours later to pick up the students. The teacher wanted a vehicle present in the event of an accident. On one occasion, the group forgot to bring nails to the site. The teacher sent one of his trusted students in his vehicle back to the school (approximately ½ mile away) to get the nails. On the way a driver ran a stop sign striking the teacher’s truck broadside and injuring the student.

A teacher stepped up in a student desk to hang items on a bulletin board.
As she was leaning forward and pushing thumb tacks into the board the desk slipped on the vinyl floor causing her to lose her balance and fall face down on the floor causing cervical injuries.

A school offered a half-day early childhood program. Students were transported via a bus dedicated for that purpose. Students were transported home after lunch and the driver would return to school to transport regular students in the afternoon. The transportation director noticed that the driver would return much later than expected on some days from the early childhood trip but never investigated the situation, assuming the driver would stop for a cup of coffee. Later, several parents approached the superintendent with the accusation that their children had been sexually molested by the driver. An investigation by the state police resulted in the driver’s arrest and conviction.

On a rainy day as students entered the elementary building the vinyl floor became quite wet and slippery as the entrance rug got saturated with water from the bottom of the students’ shoes. A mother who was escorting her small child into the building slipped on the wet floor breaking her (the mother’s) leg and knocking a student into a glassed trophy case causing the glass to break and seriously cut the student’s arm.

One huge issue that has been raised, as far as liability, is the overwhelming number of school shootings. How much liability do schools face?

One of the big questions that everyone faces is: HOW MUCH LIABILITY DO WE FACE FOR THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS?

Respond to the following: Your response should be at least one page, double spaced, 12 point, times new roman

• Contribute a detailed scenario with which you are aware (no identifying names, please) that either created a liability issue for the school or could have done so.
• What risk management policies were in place to help prevent the incident from occurring?
• What techniques, policies, or training might have been used to avoid or mitigate the situation?
• What will you do, as an administrator to prevent these scenarios?