If my son has some special needs and another student hit him several times while he was at school, is there any legal action that I can take?
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If my son has some special needs and another student hit him several times while he was at school, is there any legal action that I can take?
Either against the student or the school. My son is in a GED program. The other student is over 18.
Asked on November 6, 2013 under Personal Injury, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
You could only sue the school if the sue were negligent, or unreasonably careless, in some way, such as by not properly supervising the students. If the school, however, was doing everything more or less right, and this other student just happened to attack your son, the school would not be at fault and not be liable.
You could sue the other student, if he is a competent adult; if he is not competent (e.g. even if over 18, someone else still has guardianship or the like over him), you could sue his legal guardians; that is because assault (attacking someone) is something over which you can sue.
Of course, you can only collect in a lawsuit an amount related or commensurate to the costs and injuries suffered; so if your son, hopefully, was not badly injured and did not require expensive medical care, there would be no point in suing--you'd likely spend more on the lawsuit then you could recover or collect.
You could also report the assault to the police, since assault is a crime; the other student could potentially face criminal charges.
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