Sandra Castrejon filed a negligence lawsuit against her son's 7th grade teacher for leaving her students attended, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Her junior high school son allegedly broke his right femur on Feb. 22 at Chappell Elementary School while the teacher was absent.
The negligence suit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages, was filed against Chicago Public Schools and the teacher, who was not named in the article.
The teacher left her classroom unattended for "a long period of time" and a fight erupted, eventually leading to her son's broken leg, Sandra Castrejon claims:
"During the fight, someone pushed [the boy] from behind and he fell to the ground with great force and violence, causing the injuries."
Her Chicago accident attorney was not reached for comment by reporters, nor was the boy's mother. CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond also declined to make a statement to the press, citing policy not to comment on pending litigation.
Sandra Castrejon personally accuses the teacher of "reckless disregard for the safety of classroom students" by not supervising them. By leaving the classroom, her suit states, the students turned it into a "war zone."
Teachers have both a duty to protect and a duty to exercise a reasonable standard of care, which includes adequate supervision, according to information provided by the Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice (CECP). A teacher who leaves the classroom for an extended period of time has breached this duty and can possibly be held negligent for any injuries that occur during his or her absence.
The CECP write-up points out that courts in negligence cases determine how a "reasonable" teacher in that situation would have acted, one of the factors being "the presence or absence of the supervising teacher."
Related Resources:
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Who's at Fault for an Accident FAQ (FindLaw)
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Browse Chicago Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
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