How To Prove Your School Negligence Case Under New York Law

As a practical matter, the required element of foreseeability is often difficult to prove. In this particular case, for example, the school could easily argue that there was nothing they could have done to prevent the outbreak of a fight of which they had absolutely no warning. (In fact, the school's attorney explicity indicated that they intend to appeal the judgment in this case on that basis.) Another example is where one student pushes another off of a swing in a playground, as a result of which the latter child falls to the ground and is injured.

Two ways in which plaintiffs have overcome these hurdles is to show that the school was tacitly aware, or had "actual notice," of threats that the offending student made against the injured student before the incident, yet did not undertake sufficient affirmative actions to prevent the incident from occurring. Another way to prove that the school was negligent is by demonstrating that the school had clearly inadequate supervision at the time and place, and that with adequate supervision, the incident likely would not have occurred ("constructive notice") - such as where the offending student was threatening or chasing the injured student for several minutes before the incident finally happened.