Technology Teacher 03/15/2016

• Stanford Risk Management - Insurance and Risk Management Information for Schools and Departments

  • Risk management is the acceptance of responsibility for recognizing, identifying, and controlling the exposures to loss or injury which are created by the activities of the University.

  • Some definitions are in order: 

     

      Risk is uncertainty of loss. 

      Peril is a source of loss (fire, windstorm, embezzlement, etc.). 

      Hazard is a condition which increases the likelihood of loss (e.g.,  a known embezzler hired as an accountant).

  • A function of risk management is to organize and carry out a plan to control or reduce the risks to which the University is exposed
  • These steps are: 
     
    • Recognize and appraise the risk  
    • Estimate the probability of loss due to the risk.  
    • Select the optimum method of treating the risk.  
    • Implement a plan to carry out the selected method

• Liability of School Districts and School Personnel for Negligence - Duty, Breach of Duty, Injury, Causation, Defenses, Malpractice - StateUniversity.com

  • Liability of School Districts and School Personnel for Negligence - Duty, Breach of Duty, Injury, Causation, Defenses, Malpractice
  • an individual who is injured by a breach of duty can sue the other person to collect compensation for that injury
  • A tort is a civil wrong–a violation of a duty–that causes harm
  • three types of civil wrongs.
  • • Intentional torts include trespass, assault, battery and defamation.
     
    •  Unintentional torts include negligence and strict liability. Strict liability is when someone is held liable, even though they are not at fault. It is often used when an individual is engaged in an ultrahazardous activity.
     
    •  Constitutional torts occur when a government agent has violated an individual's constitutional rights.
  • intentional torts also can be crimes, and a tort-feasor can be required by a civil court to pay money damages to compensate the injured person and also be required by a criminal court to pay a fine or suffer imprisonment.
  • Negligence differs from these in that it is an unintentional tort.
  • It occurs when one person unintentionally causes an injury to another through a breach of a duty or violation of a general standard of care
  • A negligent tort is a tort that, although not intended, was committed in disregard of the rights or reasonable expectations of another person. This is the area of tort law that has given rise to the most litigation.
  • The money a tort-feasor must pay to compensate the accuser for the harm the accuser has sustained is called damages.
  • The damages constitute a civil, or private, fine against the tort-feasor and are analogous to the fines imposed by a criminal court.
  • negligence as "the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those ordinary considerations which ordinarily regulate human affairs, would do, or the doing of something which a reasonable or prudent man would not do."

  • Schools and their employees are not automatically responsible for every injury that may occur within the school. In order to be held liable for negligence, the following four questions must be answered in the affirmative:

     
     
    1. Did the defendant owe a duty to the plaintiff?
     
    2. Did the defendant breach that duty?
     
    3. Was the plaintiff injured?
     
    4. Was the breach the proximate cause of the injuries?
  • to recover damages, it must be shown that the defendant owes a duty to the injured person, that the behavior fell short of that required, that this caused a real injury to the person, and that the injured person was not responsible for causing the injury.
  • duty of due care that the law recognizes one person owes to another.
  • the courts have found that schools and their employees have the duty to supervise students, provide adequate and appropriate instruction prior to commencing an activity that may pose a risk of harm, and provide a safe environment.
  • Schools may have a duty to supervise students off school grounds when they have caused them to be there such as while on field trips or extracurricular events.
  • Schools may acquire a duty to supervise when they have, by their previous actions, assumed the duty to supervise at this time such as when some staff has supervised intermittently or consistently before official time to arrive.
  • School administrators are not automatically responsible for the negligent acts of teachers. In school situations, usually a plaintiff must find a separate duty on the part of each defendant.
  • In carrying out duties, one is expected to act as an ordinary, prudent, and reasonable person considering all of the circumstances involved
  • court or jury makes a determination of how the reasonable person would have acted
  • Defendants who are professionals will be held to a standard based on the skills or training they should have acquired for that position.

  • Some of the factors which may be considered in determining the standard of care include the following:

     
     
    • Age and maturity
     
    • Nature of the risk
     
    • Precautions taken to avoid injury
     
    • Environment and context (including characteristics of students, location, physical characteristics, and so forth)
     
    • Type of activity
     
    • Previous practice and experience
  • determining negligence, children are not held to the same standard of care as adults; instead their actions must be reasonable for a child of similar age, maturity, intelligence, and experience.
  • is that a child may be held to an adult standard of care when engaged in an adult activity, for example, driving a car or handling a weapon.
  • Compensation may include direct monetary damages for medical expenses, replacement of property, lost wages, and so forth.
  • o recover for an injury, the plaintiff must show that the defendant's negligence was the cause of the injury
  • When there is a series of events leading up to an injury, the person starting that chain of events may be liable for the resultant injury if it was a foreseeable result of his negligence
  • Intervening acts will not cut off liability when those intervening acts were foreseeable.
  • the court looks to the possibility of defenses before a damage award is granted.
  • Governmental immunity has greatly eroded in recent years, generally allowing an individual to recover for injuries, but not allowing an action that would undermine the state's decision-making power when carrying out its state or official functions.
  • an individual is not allowed to sue the school for an injury caused by a policy decision such as making a curriculum choice or setting the date and time for school to start.
  • Assumption of the risk is also an affirmative defense that, if successful, presents a complete bar to plaintiff's recovery
  • plaintiff understood how the specific activity was dangerous and nonetheless voluntarily engaged in it
  • Students in athletic activities are asked to assume the risk of playing that sport.
  • mistakenly believe that parents assume all risks for their children when they sign permission slips
  • some permission slips are worthless in terms of waiving liability
  • contributory negligence, if the plaintiff is responsible for the injuries sustained in any way, no matter how slight, he or she cannot be awarded any damages
  • omparative negligence, the damage award is apportioned depending on the degree of fault or contribution to the injuries.
  • In states that have adopted a modified comparative negligence, damages are awarded only if the defendant's negligence is greater than that of the plaintiff.
  • the term educational malpractice refers to negligence on the part of a professional
  • have not recognized educational malpractice as a cause of action for damages
  • Peter W. v. San Francisco Unified School District
  • graduated from high school while still being illiterate
  • no legal duty on which to base an action against the school district
  • no workable standard of care for teaching against which the defendant's actions could be judged
  • court noted that the degree of certainty that the plaintiff had suffered any injury, the extent of the injury, and the establishment of a causal link between defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's injuries were uncertain
  • The concern typically expressed is that recognition of this cause of action would require the courts to make judgments on the validity of educational policies.

• Module 2 Overview

  -Due Process is a legal principle that has its foundation in the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Both of these amendments provide protection from being “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” - two forms of due process:  Procedural due process: Guarantees that the procedures and processes used by the government will be fair.  Substantive due process: Guarantees that the substance of laws and actions of the government will be fair. - Basic due process calls for students to be informed of the infraction for which they are being accused, told the existing evidence that supports the accusation, and given the opportunity to tell their side of the story - Equal Protection is the legal principle that calls for all people to be treated in a similar manner given similar circumstances. - Student discipline o Does the school treat all students who have violated a school rule, under similar circumstances, the same way?  Student access to school’s classes, programs, and services o Do all students have access to all classes, programs, and services? o Or are certain classes, programs, and services only available to certain students? - A tort is defined as “a civil wrong that results in personal injury or property damage” - Negligence is defined as “failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances” - Liability is the assignment of responsibility for the injury and/or damage caused in a tort. In the example provided above, the person responsible for the collision would be held liable for the damages. The person who is liable assumes the responsibility for the cost to return the person and/or property to the condition before the damage occurred. - Risk management is the effort to reduce the chances of being held responsible for a tort. Insurance: Having insurance reduces or limits the financial exposure a person has in certain tort cases.  Education: Educational programs that are designed to help people avoid actions that could lead to tort cases can reduce the chances of a tort case.  Maintenance: Care and upkeep of facilities and equipment can also reduce the chances of a tort case. -

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