Jury Finds School Negligent After Teacher Stands By As Student Beaten Unconscious

In a personal injury case that concluded just last week, a jury awarded $285,000 to a 12 year-old student who was assaulted, and beaten unconscious by a fellow 13 year-old student while a teacher stood less than 5 feet away. Although the school issued a public statement claiming that they intend to appeal the jury's finding because they believe there was nothing that the school could have done to prevent the fight from occurring, the plaintiff's attorney noted that the jury's finding that the school was negligent and had acted unreasonably was solidly grounded because the fight took place just a few feet from a teacher, who did nothing to stop the fight - which continued for over 2 minutes - other than press a panic button. In my view, this case will be a close one, because while the school's position certainly has merit, the plaintiff will likely argue that although the school could not have prevented the start of the fight, they should have been able to prevent the continuation of the fight, which lasted for over 2 minutes, and that the child's injuries were primarily sustained in the middle of the assault, rather than at the beginning of the fight. More information on this topic can be found at "How To Prove Your School Negligence Case."