Los Angeles School Negligence Lawyer
When you send your child to school in Los Angeles, you trust their teachers and administrators to keep them safe. But when a school acts negligently, your child can be left traumatized. We’re here to help you advocate for and protect your child while holding negligent schools accountable.
At DeWitt Algorri & Algorri, LLP, we understand how devastating it can be to find out that your child has been mistreated at school. For over four decades, we have been aggressive advocates for victims throughout Southern California, and we’re determined to support you during this difficult time. With decades of experience between them, the Los Angeles school negligence attorneys at DeWitt Algorri & Algorri, LLP can help you demand accountability from your child’s school.
DeWitt Algorri & Algorri serves all of Los Angeles from our office in Pasadena near Pasadena Memorial Park. You can find us at 25 Union Street in Pasadena, ready to help you with sensitive school injury & accident cases. Find out how we can help by calling us at 855-WINNING (946-6464) of filling out a confidential contact form.
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What is School Negligence?
School negligence happens when your child’s educational institution fails in its obligation to provide a safe learning environment for them. Your choice to send your child to school means trusting the school to do what is right for your children—and in fact, the school is legally responsible for the safety and well being of your children as long as your children are in their care.
There are numerous ways that school negligence may affect Los Angeles families. Sexual abuse is, unfortunately, very common. Teachers, administrators, or other professionals within the school may take advantage of their position of power and use it to groom and then sexually abuse innocent children. This is perhaps one of the most serious and grave abuses of power that can happen in any school.
Other forms of school negligence include bullying and cyberbullying. While the school is not responsible for what other children do, it is responsible for administrators’ and teachers’ responses. When this behavior is observed or reported and school staff turn a blind eye, they may be liable for any physical or emotional harm that children suffer. Schools may also be held liable when they fail to provide proper supervision to children and children are subsequently hurt on the playground, on the school bus, or on field trips.
Why School Negligence is On the Rise
A growing number of news reports have highlighted serious cases of school negligence, both in Los Angeles and throughout the United States. Why? A big part of this issue is a lack of funding and support for educational professionals. California has some of the largest class sizes in the country, especially at larger districts like: LAUSD, Long Beach Unified School District, Glendale Unified School District, Montebello Unified School District, William S. Hart Union High School District, Antelope Valley Union High School District and Pomona Unified School District.
Large classes make it nearly impossible for teachers to provide adequate education, supervision, and care to all of their students. Large class sizes also prevent teachers from identifying and supporting children who are the target of bullies, who are targeted for sexual abuse, and who are falling through the cracks of the educational system.
This same issue has a ripple effect on every part of a student’s day. Limited staffing means that children are improperly supervised at lunch, on the bus, and at recess. When you have a growing number of students and a shrinking pool of qualified professionals, it makes it far easier for cases of sexual abuse, aggressive bullying, and inadequate supervision to change children’s lives forever.
Demonstrating a School’s Negligence
Proving that a school has been negligent is a key part of your legal case. You’ll need to prove that the school had a duty of care to your child, that they failed to meet this duty of care, and that their failure directly led to harm to your child. Consider, for example, a case of sexual abuse. The child in question was regularly permitted to skip other classes to go to Teacher A’s class room for what they claimed was extra tutoring. Although the school’s policy was that the classroom door should always be open when a student was with a teacher, no one enforced that policy. As a result, Teacher A essentially had unrestricted access to their victim—both Teacher A and the school as a whole failed the student.
The type of negligence your child has experienced will determine what type of evidence you need and how you can best prove your case. Upon successfully proving the school’s role in your child’s suffering, you may be in a much stronger position to secure fair and full compensation for them.
Fight for Justice for Your Child—Choose DeWitt Algorri & Algorri
Your school district has failed your child, but you don’t have to fight them alone. Let DeWitt Algorri & Algorri advocate for you. Get in touch online or call us at 855-WINNING (946-6464) to set up a consultation.