Houston School Bus Driver Risks Children’s Safety – Can You Sue the School for a School Bus Injury?

Entrusting the safety of your children to another person can be a difficult, and necessary, part of parenthood.

If you are a parent, you can imagine the awful disappointment of parents in Houston after the police held a bus driver for driving under the influence of a controlled substance. Local reports say that witnesses saw the school bus driver “back into a parked car several times after he picked up several students from the Zoe Learning Academy.” Fortunately, no one was hurt.

All children deserve to be safe, especially when they are away from their parents. So what happens if your child suffers a school bus injury? Beyond the bus, what if another school employee harms your precious cargo? Even if your family has a great school with trustworthy employees knowing what kind of protections the law provides can still benefit you in the long run.

Public schools are treated differently than other businesses.  Most of the time they have more protections, because they are government run.

Texas bill HB 1188, signed into law in 2013, has limited the amount an employer can be held accountable, before hiring and during employment. If an employer could not reasonably discover an employee’s criminal background during hiring, that employer may not be held responsible for negligent hiring during the employee’s employment. This means that if the employer had no reasonable way of discovering a potential employee’s criminal record before hiring, the employer won’t be held responsible if a crime occurs while the employee is on the clock.

Now, this may sound like an easy way that employers can wriggle out of paying for their employee’s negligent or criminal acts. But the law contains exceptions to the rule, such as where the employee previously committed a crime while performing a job similar to his or her current employment or committed a fraudulent act involving handling other people’s money. It also still holds the employee accountable.

If the employer knew or should have known about an employee’s past criminal actions, the employer may not be entirely shielded from liability.

Schools, like the one in the news story above, may be held to a different standard, however. Texas schools require every teacher, volunteer, and person working with kids–like bus drivers–to undergo criminal screenings under the “Safe Schools” statutes. In the case above, the school may be liable if the driver had a criminal record, such as a previous conviction for driving under the influence, and the school district did not get a criminal check.  Public schools can be sued for the negligent operation of a motor vehicle.  So the condition of the driver may be relevant.

If your child has been injured during the school day, or you have more questions about employer liability, please call as an experienced Houston personal injury lawyer I will be glad to talk to you without obligation.  Contact me at Kurt Arbuckle, P.C.

Photo Credit: Flickr Contributor, woodleywonderworks