Why This School Assault Case, Which Left Girl in a Coma, Would Fail in New York

Yesterday, it was reported that a Florida teen, who was beaten by a fellow student to the point that she sustained a traumatic brain injury and was put into a medically-induced coma, has sued her local school district, claiming that the school was negligent in failing to provide her with adequate security, and therefore bears responsibility for the assault.

To be sure, this is an extremely sad and upsetting case. But unless her attorney has some competent evidence that the school either knew or should have known that this assault was imminent and yet failed to undertake some reasonable measures to prevent the incident from occurring, chances are that this case, if it had been brought in New York, would not survive a motion for summary judgment (an application by the defendant school to dismiss the case before trial).

Here's why:

As noted in "Why This School Assault Case Would Never Survive in New York" and "How to Prove Your School Negligence Case Under New York Law," New York's courts will not hold a school liable for the spontaneous, violent and unforeseeable acts of another student.

Frankly, I doubt the plaintiff's attorney would be able to establish that.