Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas
School campus liabilities
My son was seriously injured at school while participating in a PE class. He sustained a broken leg and had to be transported to the hospital in an ambulance. We recently had lost our insurance coverage due to my husband being laid off from his job. When we approached the school principal about the situation she informed us that State law prohibits schools from possessing liability insurance and that unfortunately the burden of the medical bills will fall on us. We feel hopeless and are unfamiliar with why the school will not cooperate especially with regards to providing us with information such as the incident report. She stated that by law she could not as it contained confidential information. Are we getting the run around? Or is it true that schools in Texas are not legally responsible for medical costs when it involves bodily injuries during a required class?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: School campus liabilities
In Texas school districts have no liability whatsoever for injuries caused by the school district UNLESS it arises out of a vehicle accident. This does not prohibit you from recovering from an individual whose negligence caused the injury. Thus, if you can prove that the injury was caused by the negligence of a school employee, you still can sue the employee (but not the school). If there is no liability insurance and the employee is judgment proof (meaning that he has no money or non-exempt property), you are out of luck. In some school districts the district will carry liability insurance on its employees, in which event you might have a deep pocket to recover from a negligent employee.
Re: School campus liabilities
Unfortunately, the legislature, in its infinite wisdom, has passed statutes that render school districts immune from claims for damages arising out of any situation except two: automobile accidents involving school district vehicles (or those driven by school district employees) and over-discipline of students. Your situation, in spite of its tragic consequences, falls outside of these two exceptions, leaving the school district totally immune.
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