If your child was assaulted, injured, or sexually abused at school, you have probably been told the district is “investigating.” You may have been given very little information, asked to be patient, or left with the feeling that pushing harder will make things worse for your child.
You are entitled to more than that. When a school fails to keep a child safe, it can be held financially responsible. In our experience districts respond very differently once a lawyer is involved.
We are special education attorneys who have spent decades working against school districts. That matters here. We already know how districts document incidents, what their own policies require of them, and where those policies tend to fail.
Through verdicts and settlements, our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for children who were injured, assaulted, and sexually abused at school.
Cases we handle
- Physical assault by another student, where the school knew or should have known and failed to prevent it
- Sexual abuse or assault by a teacher, aide, coach, or staff member
- Sexual assault by another student, including incidents on school property, on buses, and on school trips
- Excessive force, improper restraint, and seclusion, particularly against children with disabilities
- Failure to supervise, meaning injuries that happened because no adult was where one should have been
- Bullying that escalated into physical injury after the school was put on notice
- School bus incidents, including assaults and injuries in transit
Children with disabilities are hurt at school at disproportionate rates, and they are frequently the least able to report what happened to them. Those are cases we take seriously and know how to build.
How a school becomes legally responsible
A school is not liable simply because a child got hurt on its property. Liability turns on what the district knew, what it was required to do, and what it actually did. Four questions decide most cases.
Was there a duty to supervise, and was it met?
Schools take on responsibility for children in their care. Where an injury happened because a classroom, hallway, playground, locker room, or bus went unsupervised, that failure is usually the case itself.
Did the school have notice?
This is normally the strongest ground. If there were earlier complaints, prior incidents involving the same student or staff member, disciplinary history, or reports from other parents, the district cannot credibly claim it was blindsided. We obtain those records.
Did the district follow its own policies?
Most districts have written policies covering supervision, reporting, restraint, and staff conduct. When a district breaks its own rules, that is powerful evidence, and it sits in the district’s own files.
Was the staff member properly screened and supervised?
Where abuse was committed by an employee, the question becomes what the district knew when it hired that person, and whether earlier warnings were ignored.
What we do
- We listen first. Tell us what happened. The initial screening call costs nothing, and its purpose is to work out whether you have an injury claim we can take on.
- We secure the records. Incident reports, your child’s file, staff files, prior complaints, bus and camera footage. Footage is often overwritten within weeks, which is why timing matters so much.
- We tell you honestly whether you have a case. If you do not, we say so. If what you really need is an advocate or a fixed IEP rather than a lawsuit, we will tell you that too, because we handle both.
- We deal with the district. You stop being the person chasing people who will not return your calls.
- We pursue full compensation, covering medical and psychological treatment, therapy, the cost of an appropriate placement, and the harm done to your child.
Five questions before you call
Not every incident at school becomes an injury case. These five questions tell us, and you, very quickly whether this is one we can take on. Have the answers ready and we can usually give you a straight assessment on the first call.
- Was your child physically injured? And is that injury documented somewhere other than your own account?
- Did your child receive medical treatment? Emergency room, hospital admission, a doctor’s visit, or ongoing counselling or therapy.
- Were police or child protective services involved? Was a report filed, and do you have the report number?
- When did it happen? Recent matters. Deadlines are short and camera footage is overwritten quickly.
- Have you already spoken to another lawyer about this? If someone is already representing you, tell us at the outset.
If you answered yes to the first two or three, call us. If you are not sure, call anyway and we will work it out together.
What it costs
There are two different paths here, and it is worth being clear about which one you are on.
Documented injury cases: no fee unless we recover
Where a child has suffered a real, documented injury, we take the case on a contingency fee. Nothing upfront, no hourly billing, and our fee comes out of what we recover. If we recover nothing, you owe us no fee. We go through the fee agreement with you in full, in writing, before you sign anything.
Everything else: a paid session, and usually better value
Most education law matters are not contingency cases, and we do not take them that way. If your situation involves services, an IEP or 504 plan, a discipline hearing, a placement dispute, or an incident with no documented physical injury, a contingency arrangement is simply the wrong tool. There is no money recovery for a fee to come out of.
For those situations the right starting point is a Legal Information and Strategy Session, a focused paid session with one of our attorneys, currently $600. You bring the facts and the paperwork, and you leave with a real assessment of your position and what to do next. If it turns out you do have an injury claim, we will tell you.
And if what you need is not a lawyer at all, we will say so. Dr. Mary Montgomery handles educational advocacy, reviewing plans, attending meetings and dealing with the district, as a non-legal service at a fraction of the cost of legal representation.
Do not wait to make the call
Claims against public school districts carry deadlines considerably shorter than ordinary injury claims, and many require formal written notice to the district or a government body long before any lawsuit is filed. These deadlines differ by state and by type of claim. Missing one can end a valid case permanently.
Evidence disappears on a similar clock. Surveillance and bus camera footage is routinely overwritten, staff move on, and a child’s memory of what happened becomes harder to preserve accurately.
If something happened to your child, call now rather than waiting for the district to finish its investigation.
Why families come to us
- Millions of dollars recovered for children injured, assaulted and sexually abused at school
- Decades representing children with disabilities and their families
- Rated by Super Lawyers® for over 10 consecutive years
- Rated “Superb” by AVVO, 10.0, and recipient of the AVVO Client’s Choice Award
- We handle the legal claim and the educational side together, so your child’s IEP or 504 plan does not get quietly downgraded while the injury case runs
- Offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida
Common questions
The school says it is investigating. Should I wait?
No. A district’s internal investigation is run by the district, for the district. You can cooperate with it and still have your own lawyer protecting your child’s interests. Meanwhile the evidence you will eventually need is being lost.
Will suing the school hurt my child at that school?
It is a fair worry and we hear it constantly. Retaliation against a child for a protected complaint is itself unlawful, and in practice districts behave more carefully once counsel is involved, not less. We can also address the educational side directly so your child’s services are not reduced.
What if my child has a disability and cannot explain what happened?
These are among the cases we are best suited to. We build them from records, patterns, staffing logs and prior complaints rather than relying on a child’s account.
What if the abuse happened years ago?
Some claims, particularly those involving childhood sexual abuse, carry different and sometimes considerably longer deadlines than other injury claims. Do not assume you are out of time without asking.
My child was not physically hurt, but something happened. Can you still help?
Yes, though not on a contingency basis. Where there is no documented physical injury there is usually no money recovery, and a contingency fee has nothing to come out of. That does not mean you have no options. It means the right route is a Legal Information and Strategy Session, or educational advocacy, rather than an injury claim. We will point you to whichever one actually fits.
How much is a case like this worth?
It depends on the harm done, the treatment your child needs, and what the district knew. We will give you a straight assessment rather than a number designed to sign you up.
Talk to us today
Tell us what happened to your child. The screening call costs nothing and is confidential, and we will tell you honestly which of the three routes fits your situation.
Call 888-9595-LAW, or send us a message and we will get back to you.
Philadelphia: 215-650-7563
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every case is different and depends on its own facts. This page is general information and is not legal advice. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.