Schools are expensive to operate. There are salaries to pay, buildings to heat, and books and computers to buy. The list of expenses is endless. With so many expenses, public school districts are hemorrhaging at the seams. To stay afloat, school administrators are charged with figuring out how to cut costs in a way that does not diminish a child\u2019s education or put a student at increased risk of harm. This is a difficult balancing act, and sometimes administrators get it wrong.<\/p>\n
If a child is injured in a public school because of the actions of a school employee, it can be difficult to obtain compensation for the child\u2019s injuries in a court of law. In Illinois, in order to prevail in a lawsuit against a school district for injuries to a student, it must be proven that an employee of the district acted with recklessness, which is generally equated with a willful or wanton disregard for a student\u2019s safety. This is a higher standard than in most other personal injury cases, in which\u00a0a plaintiff must only prove that another person\u2019s negligence, or failure to take reasonable care under the circumstances, caused his or her injuries.<\/p>\n
Even though the standard is higher in cases against school districts, it is not impossible to overcome. If a school district employee has prior knowledge of a dangerous condition that exists on school property and fails to fix or repair the condition before a child is injured, for example, this may amount to recklessness. The same is true of a teacher who disregards a doctor\u2019s note about a student\u2019s medical condition, if\u00a0the student is harmed\u00a0as a result.<\/p>\n