Broken Bones and Fractures on School Grounds: Kern County
The Six-Month Deadline to File a Claim Against a School District
A public school district is a government entity, and a claim against a government entity in California is subject to the government claims process. This process generally requires a written claim to be presented to the district within six months of the date of the injury.
Missing this six-month deadline can permanently bar the claim, even in situations where the injury is serious and the district was clearly at fault. A private school is not a government entity, so the government claims process and its six-month deadline do not generally apply to it. An injury at a private school follows the ordinary deadlines for a personal injury claim. Talk to an attorney to determine which deadlines apply to your case.
Growth Plate Injuries: Why Children’s Fractures Are Different
Growing bones contain growth plates, areas of cartilage near the ends of the bone where new bone forms. Because the growth plate is weaker than the surrounding bone, it is a common site of fracture for children.
When a fracture disrupts a growth plate, it can affect how the bone grows afterward. With prompt, proper treatment, most of these injuries heal without lasting problems – but some can lead to a bone that grows unevenly or stops growing in that area altogether. That risk is why a child’s fracture often calls for careful diagnosis, follow-up, and monitoring over time, and why the long-term cost of a childhood fracture can be more significant than it first appears.
Compensation and Medical Costs in a School Injury Claim
The value of a school injury claim depends on the specific injury and the care it requires, and for a child that care can extend well past the initial treatment. Compensation in these cases can include:
- Emergency and medical care, including the emergency visit, imaging, casting, and any surgery the fracture requires
- Follow-up and monitoring, which a growth plate fracture in particular can require over time to confirm the bone is developing normally
- Rehabilitation, including physical therapy to restore strength and range of motion
- Future medical care, if a growth plate injury affects the bone’s development and requires later treatment
- Pain and suffering, for the child’s physical pain and the disruption to their daily life and activities
$22.1
million
Pedestrian Accident
$15
million
Products Liability Explosion
$11
million
Premises Liability
$10
million
Oilfield Accident
$10
million
Motorcycle Accident
$9
million
Industrial Accident
$8.8
million
Police Misconduct
$8
million
Pedestrian Accident
How Chain | Cohn | Clark Handles School Injury Claims
These claims often have a short deadline and depend on evidence that can be hard to recover later, so acting quickly is important.
Chain | Cohn | Clark will investigate what happened, preserve the incident report, maintenance and inspection records, as well as the equipment involved, and determine who can be held liable for the injury. Where the defendant is a public school district, we prepare and present the government claim within the deadline so the family’s rights are protected while the case is built.
Frequently Asked Questions About School Fracture Claims
Possibly, if the injury was caused by the school’s failure to use reasonable care (inadequate supervision, an unsafe condition on the grounds, defective equipment, etc.). A school is not automatically responsible just because a child was hurt. If the school is a public district, the claim must go through the government claims process, which has a strict deadline, so it is important to act quickly.
For a public school district, a written government claim generally must be presented within six months of the injury, which is far shorter than the deadline for most personal injury claims. There is a limited late-claim process, but it is not guaranteed, so you should not count on it. A private school is not a government entity, so the ordinary personal injury deadlines apply instead.
Recoverable costs can include emergency and hospital care, imaging, surgery, casting, physical therapy, and the follow-up care a child’s fracture may require, along with any future treatment if a growth plate injury affects the bone’s development. Compensation can also potentially include your child’s pain and suffering.
No. California schools are required to use reasonable care, but an accident alone does not make the school liable. A claim depends on showing that a failure to use reasonable care, such as missing or ineffective supervision, an unsafe condition, or defective equipment, caused the injury.
Get your child medical care first, and make sure any head injury or growth plate concern is evaluated, even if the injury seems minor. Ask the school for an incident report, write down what happened and who was supervising, and keep photographs of the equipment or area involved. Because a claim against a public district must be filed within six months, it is worth speaking with an attorney promptly.
Contact a Kern County School Injury Lawyer
If your child suffered a broken bone or fracture at a school in Kern County, contact Chain | Cohn | Clark for a free consultation to learn what claims may be available and how to protect the short deadline that applies to a public district.
Contact Us Today
for your free case evaluation
Fill out the simple form below and we’ll contact you about your case right away.
