School Accidents

Children are a great joy, accompanied by no small amount of concerns, as children by nature are exposed to many hazards both in various educational settings and outside the educational institution's premises, in activities such as: playing in the yard, trips, extracurricular activities, and more.

In the event that your child was injured at school, kindergarten, or during play outside the educational institution's operating hours, and suffered damage as a result of the injury, you have several avenues to claim compensation for the damage.

Lawsuit Against a Third Party – School, Teachers, Municipality, etc.

In cases where the injury was caused due to negligence of one of the teachers, the school, municipality, or any other party responsible for the student, a compensation lawsuit may be filed for negligence, in addition to a claim under the personal accident insurance policy for students.

Unlike claims under a personal accident insurance policy, in this case the party claiming that the injury was caused due to negligence must prove the fault of the party causing the damage, namely that the damage was caused by negligent behavior of the party responsible for the student's safety, such as insufficient supervision by teachers, defective facilities on school premises, etc. The court determines the reasonableness of the behavior based on parameters such as the children's age, terrain conditions, type and nature of the activity, activity risks, etc.

If it can be proven that damage was caused due to the school's negligence, whether the negligence is manifested in a structural defect, in the school yard, or whether it is expressed in insufficient supervision by the teaching staff – the school, the Ministry of Education, and the local authority may be sued, after consulting with an attorney who collects the evidence and also refers the student to obtain a medical opinion required for filing the lawsuit.

Student Insurance – Personal Accidents

Many parents are completely unaware that their children, as students, are insured by the local authority under a personal accident insurance policy, under which monetary compensation is paid to a student injured as a result of an accident.

It is important to know that the policy covers the student at all hours of the day, not only during school hours, also in activities outside the educational institution, such as extracurricular activities, trips with the family, playing with friends, etc.

Eligibility for compensation under this policy is determined according to several criteria:

Your child must be registered for studies at one of the educational institutions (such as: schools, kindergartens, daycare centers) operated by the local authority and must actually study at this institution.

In a claim under this policy, there is no need to prove fault, and the compensation amount is calculated according to the disability determined for the student. The disability is determined by a medical expert. This policy provides compensation in cases of death, in case of permanent disability exceeding 5%, and in case of temporary disability, starting from the sixth day in which the injured student is bedridden, provided that this is a period exceeding at least 21 consecutive days. The maximum temporary disability period covered by the insurance policy is three months on a cumulative basis. In this matter, the student's hospitalization days are also important, so that for those days in which your child was hospitalized there is an addition to the compensation for the temporary disability period.

This policy provides reimbursement of medical expenses that are not covered by the National Health Insurance Law, including expenses for medical aids, but excluding:

Medical expenses that were paid or are to be paid from any other source;

Expenses for dental treatment (there is a special compensation arrangement in this policy for dental injuries);

Expenses for medical consultation to determine disability percentages.

The personal accident insurance policy for students also includes insurance coverage for parents who were injured while participating in activities of the educational institution where the insured student studies, including accompanying on trips, supervising at events, participating in educational activities outside and inside the school premises, etc. The policy in such cases covers cases of death, permanent disability, and temporary disability under the conditions detailed above.

There are several exceptions to the insurance coverage provided by this policy. That is, if the student's damage was caused as a result of one of the cases detailed above, no compensation will be paid under this policy and the parents must sue the relevant party in each case:

Car accident in Israel or abroad;

War, act of hostility, etc.;

Regular military activity;

Work accident entitling compensation under the National Insurance Institute;

Medical malpractice or damage caused as a result of medical treatment;

Illness not resulting from an accident;

Student over the age of 45 on the date the insurance coverage begins.

The statute of limitations for a claim under the personal accident insurance policy will be 3 years after the injured student reaches the age of 18, so that in practice compensation can be claimed under this policy until the student reaches the age of 21. In order to claim under a personal accident policy, it is advisable to consult with an attorney who will refer the student for medical consultation and if indeed a disability remains, will be able to know what can be demanded under the policy and accordingly prepare the lawsuit against the insurance company.

Actions to Take to Ensure the Success of the Lawsuits:

Check whether there are witnesses to the accident and if so, obtain identifying details (name, phone, position).

Request from the school secretariat the student insurance policy as well as the accident notification form which is usually filled out by the educational institution's secretariat.

Photograph the accident scene.

Keep all medical documents related to the injury resulting from the accident.

Keep and document all receipts and record all expenses related to the accident.

Because of the multiple avenues available to claim compensation for the damage caused to your child and to you, as parents, it is important to receive professional legal consultation from an attorney before beginning to exhaust your rights vis-à-vis the various parties.

Ron-Festinger Law Office has over three decades of experience in various types of tort lawsuits. The firm has rich and extensive knowledge in handling cases of this type. If you have additional questions regarding personal accident insurance policies for students or about child accidents in general, we would be happy to provide you with the relevant information and answer all your questions.