Durham Public Schools Chemical Safety Program On-line Science Safety Workshop Janet Scott, Director of Science 6-12

Session I Science Classroom Safety And The Law

Objectives Tort Areas of Responsibility Duty of Supervision Duty of Instruction Duty of Care Negligence Breach of Duty Proximate Cause Premises of Liability

Tort 1946 federal Tort Claims Act A person who injures another while violating some legal duty has committed a tort and is liable to the injured person. Victims of a tort can file their own lawsuit and only need to prove fault, through a preponderance of evidence

Areas of Responsibility North Carolina Statute Provide adequate supervision over student activities Provide adequate instructions to perform task Warn students of possible dangers Provide safe facilities and lab equipment

Duty of Supervision The levels of supervision required depend on the circumstances: Age of students Maturity and experience Specific activity The duty of proper supervision extends to the handling and storage of chemicals by students

Duty of Instruction Duty of Instruction requires teachers to provide personal instruction and sufficient warning outlining the potential dangers of an activity. Demonstrate the Lab Warn of potential dangers Monitor the use of safety equipment and practices Proper instruction acts as a shield to liability as it relates to a student’s own contributory negligence.

Exercise Good Common Sense The law only requires that a person be reasonable, that is, exercise good common sense.

Duty of Care A duty or obligation recognized by law, requiring the person to conform to a certain standard of conduct, for the protection of others against unreasonable risk North Carolina General Statutes 115C-307. Duties of Teachers

Negligence A breach of a duty owed to someone to protect them from unreasonable risk of harm Conduct which falls below a standard established by law or profession to protect others from harm Negligence claims arise from accidental conduct that could have been prevented by exercise of reasonable care

Breach of Duty A failure on a person’s part to conform to a standard required Generally, the determination of whether a teacher has breached his/her duty of care to a student turns on the determination of whether a reasonable person would recognize the risk and then take action to avoid the harm

Proximate Cause A reasonable close casual connection between the conduct and the resulting injury. This is what is commonly known as “Legal Cause” and which includes the notion of cause in fact.

Premises of Liability While teachers will have no direct liability for the conditions of the premises, as a rule, school districts are directly liable for injuries caused by conditions of their premises, buildings, fixtures, or equipment.