Legal Help Following a School District's Failure to Report Child Abuse
Teachers, school nurses, principals and other school staff members have often failed to report instances and suspicion of child abuse. In response, our Arizona legislature passed laws requiring school staff to notify Child Protective Services (CPS) regarding suspicion or evidence that school children have been physically, sexually or mentally abused:
- At home
- At school
- At their church
- At an extracurricular activity
- Anywhere else
If your child was abused and school staff failed to report it upon suspicion or learning of it, you may be able to sue the School District for damages. At the Phoenix-area law firm of Langley Law Firm, P.C., we have litigated cases against Arizona School Districts following a failure to report child abuse.
Our clients have faced a range of circumstances and challenges regarding failure to report child abuse. Often our client is a parent without custody who learned about the abuse of his or her child from CPS. Others discovered the child abuse and later learned that the child told a trusted teacher or other school staff member long before the abuse came to light, causing the child to suffer ongoing abuse. In each case, the school district was liable for failing to protect the child under the law by immediately reporting suspicion or knowledge of the abuse.
If you believe you have a potential claim against your child's school following child abuse, contact our firm. The firm's managing partner, attorney Kathleen M. Langley, has extensive training regarding the handling of child abuse-related cases, and is on the advisory board of a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the resolution of child abuse.
If you believe your child's school personnel have failed to protect your child by negligently failing to report suspected child abuse as required by Arizona statute, contact Scottsdale-based Langley Law Firm, P.C., at 866-967-6236.
