Last updated 10th January 2025 by Jade. Has your child been in an accident, and now you want to know how to sue a school? If so, our guide could help.
As a parent, you have to put your trust in people who look after your children every day. Of course, accidents are impossible to avoid completely. However, schools have a duty of care to ensure your child is kept safe from harm. We explore what a school’s duty of care is later in this guide.
Additionally, we will also discuss how an accident could happen at a school and what evidence you will need to make a successful claim.
Alternatively, you may want to speak to someone about your or your child’s specific claim. If so, you can call one of our friendly advisors. They are here to offer you free legal advice about your claim 24/7.
- Telephone number 0800 408 7827
- Live chat at the bottom of the page
- Contact us using our form.
Learn About Suing For An Injury In A School
- How To Sue A School?
- School Accident Examples
- What Evidence Do I Need To Sue A School?
- School Accident Compensation Examples
- How To Sue A School With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About How To Sue A School
How To Sue A School
If you are wondering how to sue a school, it is vital to know that you must prove that negligence has occurred. Negligence is when a liable third party breaches their duty of care, and someone sustains an injury and/or illness because of this.
Schools have a duty of care towards your child. This duty of care means that schools must take steps to ensure that everyone within the premises is reasonably safe from harm.
While the following section of this guide discusses some of the steps that schools are expected to take, here is the claims eligibility criteria:
- A school owed you or your child a duty of care.
- The school breached their duty of care.
- As a direct result of this, an injury/illness was sustained.
Have a chat with us today about your circumstances. Our friendly team can point you in the right direction, for free, if you’re eligible to sue a school.
School Accident Examples
If your child’s school is not doing all they reasonably can to keep your child safe whilst they are there, they could become injured. Some examples of how your child’s school could be liable for their injuries are:
- The school failed to perform regular maintenance checks on the playground equipment. Your child goes to play on the swings, and the swing breaks as they sit down, which results in your child suffering a broken forearm.
- Your child suffers a slip and fall due to there being no wet floor signs displayed next to a spillage in the canteen. From this, they suffer a broken ankle.
- In the playground, there have been reports from parents of a broken paving slab. Despite this, the school had not repaired the hazard. This leads to a child tripping over the pavement slab and suffering a broken wrist.
There are numerous ways how a school could potentially breach their duty of care. So, contact us to find out whether you can sue a school today.
What Evidence Do I Need To Sue A School?
In order to make a claim on behalf of your child, you will need to prove that the school was liable for the accident your child was involved in. To do this, you will need relevant evidence. For example:
- Pictures of the accident scene
- CCTV footage of the accident.
- Eyewitness contact details. – This could be a teacher or perhaps another parent.
- Log of the injury in an accident book.
- A copy of your child’s medical records, stating what injuries they sustained (e.g. a broken foot or broken thumb.)
If you are still wondering how to sue a school and what evidence you will need to successfully do this, you can call one of our advisors today.
School Accident Compensation Examples
Now we’ve answered the question “Can you sue a school?”, we can tell you how personal injury compensation is calculated.
If your child was injured at school and you have a successful accident at school claim, the compensation could potentially be divided into two heads of loss – general and special damages.
General damages covers the way your child has been physically and psychologically affected by negligence. This head of loss is always awarded in successful claims.
Some factors that are considered under general damages include:
- Loss of amenity.
- The severity of the pain.
- What the prognosis is like.
Your child may be asked to attend an independent medical assessment at some point during the claims process. Legal professionals can use the reports from this assessment, plus the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), to help calculate general damages.
The JCG is a publication containing guideline compensation brackets for a variety of injuries and illnesses.
Guideline Compensation Table
In the table below, we have taken some guideline compensation brackets from the JCG for different types of injuries that could potentially be suffered after an accident in school.
Please bear in mind that the top figure is not from the JCG, and none of these figures can be guaranteed. All claims have unique circumstances.
| Injury and severity | Guideline Amount |
|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries and special damages | Up to £500,000+ |
| Leg - Severe (b) (i) | £117,460 to £165,860 |
| Leg - Severe (b) (ii) | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Leg Injuries - Less serious (c) (i) | £21,920 to £33,880 |
| Arm - Severe (a) | £117,360 to £159,770 |
| Arm Injuries - Less severe (c) | £23,430 to £47,810 |
| Ankle - Very severe (a) | £61,090 to £85,070 |
| Ankle - Severe (b) | £38,210 to £61,090 |
| Wrist Injuries - Less severe (c) | £15,370 to £29,900 |
Special Damages
Special damages covers the way your child has been financially affected by negligence. This head of loss is not always awarded in successful claims.
Some examples of financial losses that may be suffered after an accident at school include:
- Medical bills, such as prescription costs.
- As a parent, you could claim for loss of earnings if you have needed to take time off work due to your child’s injury.
- Domestic care costs.
Since special damages might not be awarded, it is essential to keep as much evidence as possible of your financial losses. Such evidence can be in the form of receipts, invoices, bank statements, and payslips.
For more information on how to sue a school and for a more precise estimate on how much compensation you could potentially get, please contact us today.
How To Sue A School With A No Win No Fee Solicitor
When making a personal injury claim you could consider making a claim with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor. Very often a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement can be used to avoid upfront fees needed to hire legal representation.
This agreement essentially means that if your solicitor doesn’t win the case, you don’t pay for their services. If they do win the case, you’ll pay a small success fee. This is a small amount of your compensation which is capped by law.
Additionally, you will not be obligated to pay them anything upfront to start your claim or anything during the process of your claim.
For more information on how to sue a school for an injury with a No Win No Fee solicitor, call us today.
Ask Our Team About How To Sue A School For Compensation
If you would like more information on how to sue a school following an accident or would like any questions about your claim answered, we are here to help.
Our advisors can offer you free legal advice regarding your personal injury claim 24/7.
To speak with our team, contact us on the following:
- Telephone number 0800 408 7827
- Live chat at the bottom of the page
- Contact us using our form.
Learn More About How To Sue A School
For more articles by us:
If you are looking for additional resources:
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – School and college safety.
- NHS – Health A-Z.
If you would like more guidance on how to sue a school for an injury, call us today.