Fighting School Bullying in Court

Civil courts are seeing more school bullying cases. Parents are hoping these lawsuits will bring more attention to the seriousness of bullying.

Over recent years, school bullying has been receiving more and more attention from schools and law enforcement. Now it is also receiving more notice from the courts as an increasing number of cases are being taken to the civil court. J. T. and T. C. are one such case. They have filed a $20 million lawsuit against their son’s school district because of the lack of attention and action given to their son. The eighth grade boy was bullied for years before he committed suicide. The boy’s parents filed the lawsuit on the one-year anniversary of his death. They want their actions to increase awareness of the seriousness of bullying. If people are more educated concerning bullying, they will be more likely to report it.

The family attorney of J. T. and T. C. says that he has dealt with almost seventy cases or bullying in the past two years alone. He stated that parents come to him because they do not want the bullying to happen to anyone else. On the other hand, if schools are required to use their funds on lawsuits, that money will be taken away from education. However, something must be done. The parents of the young boy believe that their son’s suicide could have been prevented. They allege that many students and staff were aware of the bullying, but failed to take any action. One video of their son being stripped of his clothing and put in a trash can was even put online. However, nothing was done to protect him and the incident was not reported. The parents of J. C. do not want any other child to be driven to suicide because they feel like there is no other way of escape.

Schools are designed to be a safe place for children to learn and grow, but if school authorities are purposefully ignoring bullying, there is a problem. The effects of bullying can last for years. One-on-one bullying seems to take place more in elementary schools, while group bullying is more prevalent in high schools. Physical bullying involves hitting, tripping, punching, or any other violent act towards a student. Emotional bullying, however, can be just as degrading and can have more lasting effects on the victim. Relentless name-calling, humiliation, insults, and teasing are only some of the ways children hurt other children. Cyber-bullying can be more difficult to discover but can have extremely destructive results. If your child has been a victim of bullying, you should speak with a personal injury attorney for legal advice and help.

Advokat Vidar Borgersen, 

AUTHOR: Cohn & Swartzon, P.C.

http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=23167