In Orange County, California, the family of Samuel Camm, a middle school student, is suing the Huntington Beach Unified School District for California personal injury. Camm, who attends Isaac Sowers Middle School, cut his finger with a band saw in January 2008 while attending wood shop class.
His family's personal injury lawsuit is accusing teacher Charles Kelly of negligence for allowing the boy to use a defective and dangerous piece of machinery. Their claim that was filed prior to the lawsuit sought over $500,000 in damages for Camm's resulting emotional distress and physical disfigurement.
Michael Curran, the assistant superintendent for the school district, has said that the machinery used in class was not defective and the incident was "just an accident."
In an unrelated incident, high school student Patricia McCormack is suing the Huntington Beach Union High School District for the "grievous injury" she sustained to her left thumb while attending a technical theater class. McCormack was using a table saw when she got hurt.
Premises Liability
Schools are responsible for making sure that there are no hazardous conditions or dangerous or defective equipment on the school grounds or in the classroom that can hurt or kill a student. When failure to exercise this duty of care leads to injury or death, the student's family or the victim, depending on whether or not he or she is a minor, may have grounds to file a California personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Other reasons why a Southern California school or school district might be held liable for personal injury:
• Defective playground equipment
• Inadequate security
• Improper supervision
• Poor maintenance
Middle-school student sues after cutting finger on saw, OC Register, February 9, 2009
Premises Liability, Justia
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In Huntington Beach and other cities throughout Southern California, please contact our Orange County personal injury law firm to discuss your premises liability case today.
