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Ray Knight Vs. M.s

Middle schooler shot during school suspension, parents were
unaware of suspension.

12/4/2014

Alexxis Agurcia
Edu. 210 1004-105-1006
Dr. Warby
College of Southern Nevada
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Ray Knight Vs. Middle School

Middle school student Ray Knight was suspended for three days for missing school. His parents

had no clue that he was suspended because the school was only sending Knight home with a letter,

which he would throw away. The school did not follow its procedures which were to send a letter, mail a

letter and call the parents. On the first day of Knight’s suspension he was shot while at his friend’s

house. Knight’s family wants to press charges against the school.

In 1990, the Orleans Parish School Board was held liable for damages and injuries suffered by a

student when he found a can of duplicating fluid inside a dumpster outside the school building. The child

ignited the can and it had lit and burned the student. The court held that the school was liable because

they had failed to properly dispose of the fluid and had instead decided to dispose of the fluid in the

dumpster. Brown v. Tesack1

Another similar case of a school being found liable would be the Johnson v. School District of

Millard case 2. The court awarded damages in over $20,000 to the family of a first grader who was

injured in music class. The child had been playing London bridges with another child in the classroom.

The first child reportedly started to rock the bridges back and forth and then the second child fell off.

The parents felt that if the teacher had been properly watching the class she would have seen the first

child rocking and she would have stopped it from happening, therefore saving the second child from

falling over and becoming severely injured. The court decided that a reasonable teacher would have

foreseen the injury and that the injury was the proximate cause of the teacher's failure to supervise.

In one case, Brownell v. Los Angeles Unified School District 3, the subject is closely related. A

school was being sued for a off campus shooting that happened near the school. Some parents felt the

school could have done something to prevent this shooting from happening. However, the school had

no idea that a shooting was about to take place, so they could not have been able to prevent it. . The

court relied on evidence that the school took reasonable precautions to minimize gang-related problems
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and the fact that there was no indication that a shooting would occur that day. They said the shooting

was not a "reasonably foreseeable" event under the circumstances, so they were not held liable.

Another case where the school was not held liable for a child’s injuries was the Fallon v. Indiana

Trail School case 4. The child suffered from spinal injuries during a PE class while jumping on a

trampoline. She reportedly tried to do a front flip and landed wrong, causing spinal injuries. Because she

misused the trampoline for its intended use in PE the school was not held liable and the victim was not

awarded damages. The court ruled that a trampoline is not an "abnormally dangerous instrument" and

that the normal use of a trampoline is not an "ultra hazardous activity."

After reviewing severally cases surround the Tort and Liability laws, I still feel as though Kight’s

middle school should be held responsible for his injuries. Although this shooting wasn’t foreseen and

couldn’t be prevented, I feel that since the school didn’t follow their own policies they should be held

responsible. If the parents would have been getting phone calls they would have known that their child

was missing school; which means that Knight wouldn’t have had a chance to be suspended. Also if the

parents knew he was suspended, knight wouldn’t be allowed out and wouldn’t have had a chance to

have gotten shot. I feel like this was a direct act of negligence and the judge should rule in the favor of

the family.
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References

BROWN v. TESACK | Leagle.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from

http://leagle.com/decision/19901521566So2d955_11353.xml/BROWN v. TESACK

Brownell v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (1992). (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from
http://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/4th/4/787.html

JOHNSON JOHNSON v. SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MILLARD. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ne-supreme-court/1305437.html

FALLON v. INDIAN TRAIL SCHOOL, ADDISON TP. SCH. DIST. | Leagle.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5,
2014, from http://www.leagle.com/decision/19861079148IllApp3d931_1965.xml/FALLON v. INDIAN
TRAIL SCHOOL, ADDISON TP. SCH.