The start of the school year is a time when children spend several hours a day in schools, playgrounds, and gymnasiums. Unfortunately, all it takes is a moment of inattention for an accident to occur—a broken arm in physical education class, a cut on the head during recess, or property damage. In such situations, parents of injured students often wonder who to hold financially responsible and whether to sue a specific teacher or the educational institution.
Under current regulations, schools are obligated to supervise minor students. This obligation extends from the moment the child enters the school grounds or a scheduled activity, such as a field trip, until they leave at the end of scheduled classes. However, it's important to remember that just because a student has an accident doesn't automatically mean someone else is at fault. To pursue compensation or damages, it's necessary to demonstrate negligence or inadequate performance of safety duties.
A key factor in determining liability for damages is the legal status of the institution itself. In public schools, teachers are employed under the Teachers' Charter or the Labor Code. If damage occurs due to their inadvertent negligence, for example, a momentary distraction during recess, the school's governing body, most often the municipality, bears full civil liability. In such a situation, the injured parent cannot sue the teacher directly but must file a lawsuit against the local government unit. The governing body pays compensation from its own liability insurance policy and then has the right to pursue a so-called recourse claim against the teacher, which, under the Labor Code, is generally limited to three months' salary. The situation is different in private schools, where liability is based on civil law principles regarding the liability of a superior for a subordinate. In such schools, the person or entity running the school, such as a company, is liable for damages caused by the teacher.
However, there are exceptions in which a teacher loses employment protection and the parents of the injured child or the prosecutor's office may hold them civilly or even criminally liable. This applies primarily to cases of willful misconduct, gross negligence, leaving class or duty without providing a replacement, or performing duties under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In such circumstances, the teacher is personally liable and may also be held criminally liable for exposing children to immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm.
Analyzing all court rulings in cases involving compensation and damages for children's accidents at school, several common patterns emerge. Courts rule in favor of students when supervision was inadequate or the school's infrastructure posed a threat.
Accidents during physical education classes. These are the absolute top cases brought to court. They most often involve injuries sustained during team sports (e.g., fractures, sprains, and broken teeth), falls from heights (e.g., from ladders or ropes), and impacts with unsecured equipment (e.g., a soccer goal or basketball hoop falling over). In their judgments, courts primarily examine whether the teacher conducting the lesson provided students with appropriate instruction and warm-ups, adapted exercises to the children's age and physical abilities, and whether the equipment had the required certifications and was properly secured.
Another large group of cases involves fights, trips in crowded hallways, falls down stairs, or students accidentally being pushed by peers. Courts meticulously review teacher duty schedules in their decisions. If evidence indicates that a designated teacher was late for duty, left a designated section of the hallway, or was engaged in personal matters (e.g., a phone call), courts readily attribute blame to the institution for inadequate supervision.
Cases related to the technical condition of the school building and grounds include slips on unshoveled or icy sidewalks in front of the school, falls on potholed playing fields, and cuts on protruding fence elements. In these cases, courts attribute responsibility to the organizational management, which has a statutory obligation to regularly inspect and eliminate occupational health and safety hazards.
Courts also hear cases involving the lack of adequate supervision during trips to cinemas, museums, and swimming pools. Common themes in these rulings include the inadequate number of chaperones for the number of children (violation of trip regulations) and the lack of response from chaperones to dangerous behavior by students in accommodations or on hiking trails.
When an accident occurs due to the negligence of a school or its employees, the injured child is entitled to a range of financial claims under the school's liability insurance policy. Parents can seek monetary compensation for the harm and suffering they have suffered, reimbursement for private treatment, medication, or rehabilitation costs, reimbursement for childcare costs, and, in extreme cases, a pension for permanent health impairment. It's crucial to distinguish voluntary personal accident insurance from the school's liability insurance policy. School personal accident insurance only pays a symbolic percentage of the insurance sum for the established health impairment, but this does not in any way preclude the possibility of seeking full compensation from the school's liability insurance if the incident was caused by the school's fault.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of September 1, 2026.
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