Essay On Tort Liability

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Introduction

Tort liability is important for teachers that if a child is accidentally injured at school or due to negligence, the student’s parent may take legal action against the school or the teacher. The issue of teacher and school liability in today’s controversial society tell us that anyone can be a lawsuit. Teachers should be educated as to his / her liability in the classroom and be aware of how to minimize exposure to lawsuits and student/ parents complains. Teachers tort liability depends on where and how the injury occurred, the teacher’s actions or inaction, and the evidence on the whole. Just like anyone else, teachers are only responsible for torts if all the elements of negligence are proven.
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A common intentional tort that occurs in schools is a battery. A battery is described as an intentional harmful or offensive touching of another person. In the school context, a battery can occur anytime a teacher or administrator touches a child in a harmful or offensive manner. Another common intentional tort that might occur on school grounds is assault. An assault is closely related to battery. It involves an overt attempt to physically injure a person or create immediate apprehension of being injured. However, unlike battery, no actual physical contact is required for an assault to occur. The person committing the assault must simply create a feeling of fear or apprehension of being injured in the mind of the victim. Most often, teachers are accused of committing a battery or assault in the course of disciplining a child or stopping a student from injuring another student. This usually involves grabbing the arm of a student or physically forcing the student away from an incident. Generally, courts are reluctant to interfere with the teacher’s authority to discipline students. However, some courts have found teachers guilty of battery and assault when the conduct is deemed cruel or excessive, and when the teacher intends to do harm to the

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