Parents have plenty of stress related to sending their little ones off to school. Missing the bus is just one concern related to school transportation.
Daily transportation has its own inherent risks but certain risks are particular to school buses because of the age specific level of experience and intelligence of child passengers.
On August 20, 2012, however, children were not the only passengers on board. A Conway woman walked onto a school bus and at her instructions, two of her children attacked another student on the bus. The boy who was attacked had allegedly stabbed the woman’s daughter with a pencil. The fight was eventually stopped by another man who came on to the bus after the driver was unable to remove the woman. She was later arrested for second degree battery.
While this was certainly an isolated incident, the presence of younger schoolchildren on a school bus is a condition that requires a higher duty of care.
If a school provides transportation for students, it has a duty to exercise reasonable care. The school has physical custody of students while they are on the bus or grouped in a particular area for the purpose of waiting for the bus. If there is an injury, the school that provides the transportation is responsible for accidents associated with the school provided or approved vehicles.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), school buses continue to be safer than any other mode of transporting children to school. Even if the statistics are favorable, one injured child is one too many. Because schools and school districts are considered to be part of the government, an injured child and his or her parents have a limited claim against the school in its official capacity.
The laws that apply to school bus accidents vary greatly depending on the circumstances. If you are the parent of a child who was seriously injured in a school bus accident, call us at 501.296.9820 for a free consultation.