In January of 2023 the nation was shocked when a six-year-old child in Virginia opened fire on his teacher with a 9 mm handgun. The teacher, who was wounded in her hand and chest, filed suit against the school district in Newport News Circuit Court because several teachers had reported rumors that the child had a gun and was in a violent mood, and no action was taken. The school administration contends the suit belongs in the state workers’ compensation court.
They contend that violence is just part of a teacher’s job, as approximately 327,000 public school teachers were threatened with injury by a student in 2015-2016, while 192,500 public school teachers were physically attacked by a student. The board also pointed out that local elementary school student assaults on teachers include “hitting, kicking, biting, tripping, punching to the face and/or stomach, throwing items and furniture, including desks, books, water bottles, and even sharpened pencils, in addition to pushing, shoving, and the like. ”
Unfortunately, while this is an extreme case, more and more teachers are dealing with violence in the school setting. While data is still being gathered, anecdotal evidence points to an uptick in physical attacks between students and on teachers since the return to school following Covid 19. We have seen that here in our office as well.
Teachers are also subject to the more usual workplace injuries, such as slip and falls, back strain, toxic exposure, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
If you work in education and have been injured, call Putnam Law today.
