Can I take legal action against my child's school board bus service because my 5 y/o was pen stabbed on bus

Question

my 5 yearold daughter who is in kindergarten got stabbed by 2 4th grade boys on the way home while on the bus van that the school board provided. blood was everywhere! I took her to the hospital they treated her wounds and told us to take pictures, and then they told us to come back in a few days to make sure its not infected. what should i do? should i take legal action against both boy's parents, the school, and the van driver for doing nothing to prevent my daughter from being stabbed?

Answer 1

Wow that is absolutely insane.  I would give a lawyer a call if you want to take legal action, they would be able to tell you exactly what they could do in a situation like that.  Also be sure to tell everyone involved about it and find out what their reaction is.  My son was "lost" by a bus driver once and she even told me he went into some strangers house and she knew he wasnt supposed to be there.  I thought my son had been kidnapped and we found him a few hours later after COMPLETE panic and every police officer on the street going door to door.  You cant trust those bus companies unfortunately.

Answer 2

It might prove very difficult to sue and win anything for this. The driver was probably busy and couldn't see this happen in time to stop it. Of course, you can demand an investigation, if one hasn't been started. The boys will probably be suspended or expelled. Maybe the police will get involved. You can always report this to the police yourself.

I never met a parent of a seriously misbehaving child that had any money at all. I think that people who can afford to carry insurance are able to spend more time with their kids and have fewer delinquint children.

    I think that you should ask the school officials if they have contacted the police. I would then ask the police what their investigation found. I would push this until people seeing me come to school would turn the other direction. It is not right and you should stop this now !!!

Answer 3

What could the van driver have done? Probably nothing. I'd pursue action against the kids, but even then you probably won't get anything.

Answer 4

It's perfectly reasonable to sue the boys' parents....actually, I encourage it....but the school board and bus driver could have done nothing to prevent that....it's not as if they knew it was going to happen.

Unfortunately our culture tells us to sue, sue, sue whenever we believe someone is wrong, but nobody was at fault here except for the two boys...and, therefore, their families. The bus driver and school board have done nothing wrong here.

Answer 5

get the school involved most definitely.  They will get the parents involved.  There is not much you can do with the bus driver though..what could he have done to prevent it?  He was driving.   It would be hard to prove negligence.

I would demand the 2 boys be suspended.

Answer 6

Those 4th grade boys are likely old enough to be charged as juveniles.   In my state it's 10 years old.   The state next to me, kids as young as 9 years old can be charged.     If the parents of the 4th graders earn a good income then I would look at a lawsuit too.    If they're poor, you won't collect anything or very little.     Look into criminal charges for the boys who did this.

Answer 7

I don't think the van driver is to blame here, but you can certainly sue the boys parents for any medical bills, and perhaps pain and suffering.  If the boys are still on the van, you may consider driving your child or seeing if there are carpoolers around that you can join.

Answer 8

Take the pictures write out a report & take it to the school.  You know the names of the other children I assume.  Nasty little b******s by the sound of it.

Tell them you want something done about it, and you want the childrens parents called into it.  Ask what the punishment the boys are going to get - from the school & the parents.

You should look at finding another older responsible girl who catches the bus with your daughter.  Ask to to look out for her & even offer to pay her.  Im surprised that the school has not done this already - 5 is very young to be on the school bus by yourself.

Answer 9

Someone should be responsible!  Why was she on a bus with 4th graders?

Answer 10

I agree with Patrick.  I don't know and can't say how successful you'd be if you did sue the school, but I do know it's not really the school's fault (unless you'd complained about this kid before and asked them to take steps to keep the kids safe).  Why take much needed funding away from the school budget (and ultimately your child's and other children's educations) to sue a party that's not even really in the wrong? Where I live, school budgets are really tight ... a spurious lawsuit could end up causing teacher layoffs and larger class sizes for everybody.  If it's a question of needing help with medical bills, I would go to the parents of the wrongdoer.