Educators ‘outraged’ after attorneys argue 1st-grade teacher shot in school is ‘workplace injury’

www.denverpost.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3089104

NEWPORT NEWS — The Newport News Education Association President condemned the premise of the school division’s motion to dismiss Abigail Zwerner’s pending $40 million lawsuit.
The motion was filed last week by attorneys representing the School Board and argues that Zwerner, who was shot in her classroom at Richneck Elementary in January by a 6-year-old student, is only entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim because the injury she sustained from the shooting is a “workplace injury,” and that the shooting was a hazard of the job.

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2y ago

Educators ‘outraged’ after attorneys argue 1st-grade teacher shot in school is ‘workplace injury’

www.denverpost.com /2023/05/03/educators-outraged-teacher-shot-in-school-workplace-injury/

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2y ago

Educators ‘outraged’ after attorneys argue 1st-grade teacher shot in school is ‘workplace injury’

www.denverpost.com /2023/05/03/educators-outraged-teacher-shot-in-school-workplace-injury/

76 comments

You guys saying "well are they wrong?" Are missing the point, the lawyer is attempting to normalize school shootings, and he's trying to do this in order to let the school get away with not taking the appropriate steps to prevent this incident from happening.
- Not fair to blame the lawyer though. He's hired to defend them to the best of his ability.
  You want to be mad. Be mad at the school that agreed that this is the defense they agreed to go for.
  
  You know, fuck that. I don't agree. The lawyer is willfully making people and society worse in this defense, consciously. That is indefensible and condemnable.
  
  No, I choose to blame the guy making money by defending the status quo.
  He could have chosen an honorable career, instead chose to defend scumbags for $$$.
- So this normalization extends than to lawyer offices too right...?
- To be fair how is it the schools fault if muricans are retarded with their gun laws?
  
  The lawsuit is based on that she told the school multiple times about this kid, but no action was taken. That the schools negligence is the cause of her injury.
  Rather than this being a random shooting
  
  and our liability laws
- Yeah, that makes sense. This filling isn't wrong to attempt, but there's also no reason to not believe negligence wasn't involved in protecting their teachers. I doubt the judge will dismiss based on this reasoning. That's what the trial is for. I don't blame the attorney for trying though, and I don't doubt the reasoning will be a very large part of their defense in the end.
- While I understand the assholes are trying to get a lower payment, if this is a workplace hazard, then every teacher should sue for back hazard pay, violations on clearly showing it's a possibility and expectation to get shot, and I'm sure OSHA has something on providing proper PPE. It's a workplace hazard after all.
- Like a sign that says "X days without shooting"?
  
  Country wide? That sign comes with a permanent 0.
- I was thinking the same, the outrageous thing here is not the claim, but the fact that they do have a point.
- getting shot in America is a hazard of just existing in that country...
- I read a little more about it. They are saying that she was entitled to claim workman's comp, but refused to do so. She has thus far refused benefits to which she was/is entitled.
  Their theory is that whatever damages are eventually assessed in this case should not include the benefits she is entitled to receive separate and apart from the case. This would be important if she is awarded triple damages, for example. They are effectively arguing that the medical bills shouldn't be tripled, even if every other claim is.
  It's a technical point, but likely a solid one.
Well, okay then. Did the school do everything it could to mitigate this professional hazard?
Let's see the "school shooting" part of the risk assessment, the prevention steps taken, the training, and so on.
- Time to bring in OSHA
- Yeah, this argument is likely going to backfire for the school.
- Do the ALICE drills count?
  
  Oops, better watch what you say; I hear the licensing for that training is $100k+ now.
Workplace injury?? It's a school, not a fucking shooting range.
- I'd love to see the data on deaths at shooting ranges vs schools. And by "love" I mean that I'll probably be queasy to learn more people die at schools than shooting ranges.
  
  i mean...there is a LOT more security/safety measures in a shooting range Because there are a lot more guns. even if someone went on a killing spree they would be shot by one of the other dozen people holding a loaded weapon. not defending school shootings.
- I expect nothing else but for the judge and prosecution to absolutely dunk on that defense
- By a kindergartener as well. 20 years ago this would have been an Onion headline.
  
  To be fair, that's true for most US headlines these days:
  coup-leader repliblican favorite for president.
  Pro-life movement causes infant and maternal mortality to rise.
  Debt ceiling negotiations will start about 4 weeks before deadline.
If we're not going to enact common sense gun laws and protections for the public, then it is a workplace injury. She should still be allowed to sue those responsible for not protecting her and the children in her care, but when you normalize school shootings this is what you get. If a cop can say getting shot is a workplace injury and receive compensation for the rest of his life, so should she.
- If I understand the article correctly they're trying to say it's a workplace injury to cap the payout to something lower than she was trying to get.
  
  That's absolutely what they're saying. And I don't agree that the payout should be capped. Especially when in some places it's not capped for cops. But on the other hand... This is the worst time line.
- The way the law is set up (and thus the reason the lawyers are arguing it) is that you can't sue your employer for a workplace injury, it is purely a workers compensation (insurance) claim, and those do not pay any millions of dollars, and also the school would be covered by their insurance.
Capitalism demands reducing human lives to resources.
Were they at work when the injury occurred? Check Were there safeguards that the workplace could have done to prevent the injury? Check.
- “Safeguards” lol. In America, gun safety lock is safeguard enough.
- They actually searched the kid for a gun and didn’t find it because it was hidden in his pants.
Wanting to not get shot at work is so woke...
- yeah man the woke libtards have gone too far, do they really expect to survive their jobs?? so privileged!
Only in in gun nut America would anyone in their right mind would call being fucking shot a 'workplace injury'. I mean if this is what is expected then they should be making 100K+ a year since they face being shot more than being a cop.
James Graves, the president of the Newport News teachers union
Graves said, “These lawyers have started a significant hurricane in our district by saying that being shot is part of what teachers signed up for.”
this is grim but when i saw his last name, the first thing i thought of was nominative determinism theory (hypothesis that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work which reflect their names.)
lastly, at what point does something become labeled a "work hazard"? i'm looking forward to seeing how this case pans out. also, i wonder how insurance companies are going to react to this.
What happened to holding the parent liable for what their kids do? Like the Oxford MI shooting the parents were charged. Lets keep doing that, keep charging the parents for the kids crimes. Maybe parents will take a more vested interest in what the fuck their kids are doing, watching, websites they are viewing.
- Charging parents for kids crimes will just be used as a weapon to lock up parents that authorities don't like. The only way to stop school shootings is to have better gun laws in the first place, as unpopular as that might be in America.
  
  Maybe true to an small extent, but if you own a firearm and have a kid in the house, it's your responsibility to ensure they can't access it. Responsible gun ownership should be the norm and expectation, and to an extent legally required as well.
So cops being shot is too?
I wonder if you're a postal worker and get shot by another postal worker if it's a workplace injury. If that's a workplace hazard.
- Isn't any injury at a workplace by definition, a workplace-injury?
  The question is who is liable? Seems like people think the employee is liable by default if it's branded a workplace injury.
This kid has major Boondocks vibes.
- That character was inspired by this real life kid.
- Huh? Did you read the article? The district is arguing that it's a workplace injury to prevent paying out more money.
- She also can’t sue for pain and suffering under workers comp. Lost wages and medical benefits only.
Are. They. Wrong.
- Yes. If it's a workplace injury, OSHA has the authority to come in and dictate mitigation measures.
  Clearly this isn't true.
  
  There are mitigation measures! Unfortunately, OSHA can only dictate mitigation measures inside the workplace.
- Yes. Being shot is not part of the job description.
  
  Stabbed with a pencil? Sure. Hit with a chair a kid threw? Okay. Harmed with an actual weapon? That they searched the kid for and didn’t find? Nope, sorry. I can’t accept that work hazard.
  
  I'm pretty sure mass shootings are actually addressed in the handbook.
- They're downplaying it because this is normal.
  Getting mowed down by a mass shooter is a workplace hazard because this is a shithole country where mass shootings happen daily.

76 comments