Pushed on the Ice

Q: One winter morning, on purpose, a classmate shoved me fast on an icy walkway at our school.  There were many patches of ice on this walkway.  There was no salt or sand.  A friend agrees with me.  The walkway was so slippery that the ambulance crew needed to use the adjacent grass in order to remove me.

A: Your attorney is likely to argue that the school failed to provide adequate supervision.  A school is under a duty adequately to supervise the students in its charge, and is liable for foreseeable injuries proximately related to the absence of adequate supervision.  Your attorney will seek to establish that school authorities had specific knowledge or notice of prior dangerous similar conduct by the classmate, and thus his dangerous propensities – that his act could reasonably have been anticipated.

Your attorney is also likely to argue that the school was negligent in maintaining the walkway.  A real property owner or a party in possession or control of real property can be held liable for a slip-and-fall accident if it created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of it.  Even if this was transparent ice, your attorney will strive to show that the ice was there long enough for the school district to have discovered it, if only the district had made reasonable efforts.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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