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Running Head: Tort and Liability

Tort and Liability

Briana Munoz Juarez
College of Southern Nevada

Tort and Liability

Abstract
It is important for a teacher to be aware of the liability that we have with our students. I am going
to be talking to you about a case that has to do with tort liability. Tort law offers civil rather than
criminal remedies to individuals for harm caused by the unreasonable conducts of
others(Cambron Pg. 20). Tort cases primarily involve state law and are grounded in the
fundamental premise that individuals are liable for the consequences of their conduct that result
in injury to others (cambron Pg.20). The case that I am going to be focusing on is about a
student that gets injured outside of school because he was on suspension but did not inform his
parents. In this case I am going to have to decide whether the parents or the school will win this
case.

Key words: Liability, Tort

Tort and Liability

Tort and Liability

It is extremely important for all teachers to have the knowledge of what they are liable for
when an injury occurs to a student. For example what if you are a teacher and one of your
students gets suspended and gets hurt while in suspension but the parents were not aware of the
suspension, who is held liable? A middle school student named Ray Knight, was suspended for
three days due to unexcused absences. School district have a procedure that requires a telephone
call and a written notice by mail to the parents of Ray, the school only sent a note with Ray who
threw it away. Rays parents were unware of his suspension and during his first day of
suspension he was accidentally shot while visiting a friend. Do you think the Rays parents have
defensible grounds to put liability charges against school officials?
Teachers have laws and rules that can help in a tragic event, such as when a student gets
hurt and the parents want to sue the school. A tort is described as a civil wrong, independent of
breach of contract, for which relief takes the form of damages (Cambron Pg. 20). Most school
tort actions can be grouped into three primary categories which are the following; negligence,
intentional torts, and defamation (Cambron Pg. 20). To determine whether a teacher is
negligent in a given situation, courts asses if a reasonably prudent teacher (with the special skills
and training associated with that role) would have acted in a similar manner under like
conditions(Cambron Pg. 20). There are two types of negligence; contributory negligence and
comparative negligence. In states that recognize contributory negligence as a defense, plaintiffs
are denied recovery if their actions are shown to have been substantially responsible for the

Tort and Liability

injury: it makes no difference that the defendant was negligent and also partially at
fault(Cambron Pg. 30). Comparative Negligence is when the comparative model, the plaintiff
and/ or one or more defendants bear responsibility in proportion to fault for the injury
(Cambron Pg. 31).
The first case that Im going to talk about is Kathleen SANFORD, Individually and as
Administratrix of the Estate of Michael R. Sanford, Appellant v. Pamela STILES; Dennis
Murphy; East Penn School District. This case is about a sixteen year old student, named
Michael who committed suicide at his home. Kathleen Sanford filed suit under 42 U.S.C.
1983, alleging that the Defendants are liable for her son's death under a state-created danger
theory. She also alleges that Pamela Stiles Michaels counselor is individually liable for
negligence under state law (FindLaw's United States Third Circuit case and opinions). Michael
had an ex-girlfriend named Karen who received a troubling note from him November 26, 2002.
The note said the following I know I really haven't talked to you in awhile. Hopefully this note
doesn't come out the wrong way. I've heard 3 different stories about you & Ryan. The one I
heard almost made me want to go kill myself. Mostly because if there was any chance in hell
of you & me solving the what if's I fucked it up. Anyways I heard that instead of Danielle it
was you online Friday. If I said anything stupid, I apologize (this weekend sucked & I've tried
to make myself forget it). So how have you been? How's driving going? Remember stop
signs w/ white lines around them are optional & if you hit a pedestrian @ nite & he's wearing
black its 100 pts. For some reason, I just thought this & have to ask you, is there any grudge or
an[imosity] btwn us? I g2g. Write back if you can, if not hopefully I ttyl. Luv ya. Ur exhusband, Mike(FindLawss United States Third Circuit case and opinions). After receiving the
note Karen told a teacher who then spoke to Michaels counselor Stiles who quickly spoke to

Tort and Liability

Michael to make sure that he was not suicidal. She did not make a report and a couple of days
later he was found hanged in his house by his mother, who later sued the school district. All
charges were taking away from the school district because it was found that Stiles nor the district
was found accountable for the death. This case would be a pro case for the district in the case
with Knight; because Knight life Michael were not hurt in school and there is not anyway that
the school could had prevented both injuries.
The next case that I will inform you about is Barbara C. COLLETTE and Scott E.
MacFarland, wife and husband; Holly L. Scofield, a single woman, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v.
TOLLESON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, NO. 214; Stephen Knight and Joyce Lee Knight,
husband and wife; Kino Flores and Anna Flores, Defendants-Appellees. Appellants were
injured in an automobile accident on November 19, 1998, at approximately 12:10 p.m., when the
car Scofield was driving was struck by a car operated by Zachary Thomason, a student at
Westview High School( Collette v. Tolleson Unified School District No214). The school that
Zachary and four other students attended a close campus school that allowed students with 3.0
GPA to go out of school for lunch only if they had a lunch pass; which only two out of the five
had. The kids left the campus through a door that did not have any guard. I believe that the
school should not be responsible for what happened because the school cannot stop every student
from doing bad things out of school. This case would be a Pro case for the district against
Knights mom because it happened outside of school.
The third case that I will inform you of is Goss v. Lopez ( 1974). "This case is about nine
students that were suspended from two different schools without the principal holding a hearing
for any of the students affected by the suspension; which people said violated the students' Due
Process rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment "(Goss v. Lopez). "The Court found

Tort and Liability

that students facing suspension should at a minimum be given notice and afforded some kind of

hearing"(Goss v. Lopez). This case would be a Con for the school district of Ray Knight because
he was not given "some kind of hearing" (Goss v. Lopez) which means that his parents have a
possible chance of winning the case. The school did not take the accurate precautions once it
came to Ray Knight's suspension and with him getting shoot on the first day of suspension; that
is a tragedy that cannot be ignored by the district.
The last case that I am going to inform you of is Carr v. School Board of Pasco County.
This case is about a student named "Michael Car who participated in the Hudson High School
President's Challenge, a physical activity and fitness awards program"(Carr v. School Board of
Pasco County). During the race in which 100 students attending he hurt his knee badly and sued
the district for liability. In this case I think that it would be a Con case because Michael was hurt
in the school and because there was a bench on the track that should not had been there. The
reason for that is because the correct precautions were no taking by the teachers in charge which
provoked both Ray and Michael to get injured.
In conclusion I believe that Ray's parents do not have defensible grounds to pursue
liability charges against school officials. I think that the possible ruling in this case is that the
district will win because the accident did not happen in school. Also" as a general rule, school
districts are not expected to protect truant and non- attending students"(Cambron Pg. 25) . The
district and school can be help responsible for every injury that happens to their students. Ray
broke the rules by not giving the note to his parents and by also not going home and being safe.
Thankfully there are laws that can keep the teachers and administrators safe from sues.

Tort and Liability

Reference
Cambron, Nelda H. (2014). Tort Liability. Pg. 20
FindLaw's United States Third Circuit case and opinions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2016, from
http;//caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1380734.html
Collette v. Tolleson Unified School District No214. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from
http;//caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1291266.html
Goss v. Lopez. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved April 22, 2016, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1974/73898
Carr v. School Board of Pasco County. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1143031.html