is this negligence? really need help

[AcidBurrito]

Hi. I'm a student at Leland High School in San Jose, California. This morning, i was walking through the mud to get to one of my classes on time, when i slipped and fell. This broke my guitar which I was carrying at the time. I was required to bring it for a school jazz band class i am currently enrolled in, and it was thus mandatory that i bring it every day. The unusual circumstances are that my school is currently undergoing construction. The only path to get to my class is either through the mud, or one of the two original paths left after one was closed for construction. If everyone had taken that one narrow walkway, it would have been impossible to arrive to class on time. I was wondering, if the school is somewhat liable? In order to reach my class on time, i HAVE to walk through this slippery mud. People fall on it all the time, it's just that I happened to break a $1000+ guitar. Aren't schools required to label slippery surfaces? I thought this is somewhat similar to the law where if someone trips on the sidewalk in front of your house due to your improper maintenance of it, then you are liable for any damages. The school could have put another path through the mud with wooden boards like they do when pouring cement, or simply extended the time we have to get to classes so that people would not be forced to go through the mud to get to class on time. Is there any chance I could win this argument? Would the disctrict be willing to settle out of court for $1000, or even $500? It would be small potatoes to them, and their legal fees to defend against any lawsuit would be much, much higher. After all, I could have broken a bone, or hurt myself badly if the impact was great enough to shatter a solid mahogany guitar neck. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[vrzirn]

Of course, you also could have left your home a bit earlier and taken the proper path.

 

[AcidBurrito]

i was going from class to class. is there any hope that i can just sound threatening and have them settle? i doubt that i could convince a judge that it's entirely the school's fault, but if they would agree to settle out of court, it would save them money because the lawyer fees would cost a lot more than the $500 to $1000 i'd be asking. I'm not saying that i have the strongest case in the world, but neither did that woman who spilled hot coffee on herself and won a suit against mc donald's....

 

[ellencee]

I think what you might be able to accomplish is having the walkway made more safe for you and the other students who have to walk through this mess.
I also believe you would be more likely to achieve this through a calm and mature approach with the school, not through intimidation methods.
(There are two sides to this, and I want you to hear them here, not in a setting where you may be left feeling humiliated.)
The school did leave one of two original paths. Crowded? yes, but so are the interstates and the grocery isles, and the concert lines, and more than likely, you and your fellow students use them willingly and allow additional time for the traffic.
If insurance were available for my child's $1,000 guitar, I would have purchased it; by any chance was your guitar insured?
I'm afraid you have suffered an occurence that leaves you with little recourse, but to literallly and figuratively, get up, dust yourself off, and do what you can to replace your guitar.
And, perhaps you may be the first link in the chain to show the property owners as liable, if you make your complaint maturely and in writing.
After all, McDonald's had been warned over and over that their coffee was too hot (warned by officials) and their continued (this being the key word--continued) negligence led to an elderly woman with frail skin being horribly burned; and then, a jury with $ floating in front of their eyes awarded an embarrasingly large amount in damages, which has led to states and businesses everywhere trying to get caps put on damages that are awarded, so as to fend off McDonald jurys everywhere. and, it is my understanding from textbooks that include this McDonald's verdict, the plaintiff settled for much, much less, and we aren't allowed to know how much the actual settlement was. It probably would have bought new band equipment all around, though!
Good luck.

 

[AcidBurrito]

Thanks for the help! I was wondering though, do i really have a chance if it really comes down to court? I don't want to try to use intimidation tactics, but I have the feeling that my chances would not be good in court. I don't know much about legal matters, but my case seems to lack sufficient hard evidence to demonstrate clear negligence. I was thinking that my best chance would be to try to get them to settle out of court, rather than get into a court case that I probably would not win. My real question is: do you think that it's worth going to court? would i have a fighting chance here? or is my case much too flimsy? I just wanted to get some opinions before doing anything this drastic.

 

[AcidBurrito]

oh, i forgot....my entire argument that i have is that i am FORCED to use this route in order to arrive to class on time. The school has complete control over the amount of time between classes and the amount of "safe" paved walking area. If i go to a grocery store, I am not forced to go when it's crowded, and i can choose to accept the inconvenience of going at 7 AM if i want to beat the traffic. The difference here is that I am left with no alternatives by the school, and that I MUST use the area they have set aside to set from point A to point B. This doesn't seem very compelling of a point, but i'm looking at all the options here.... $1000 is a lot when you're 16

 

[ellencee]

AcidBurrito
(by the way, what a name!)
First, you can't settle out of court unless you first file a lawsuit, and there is reason for the other side to want to settle. What do they have to lose? not a thing. They could probably get the case dismissed and you would never get to a settlement situation.
What you want is your guitar fixed or replaced, and I guess replaced is your only option.
Ask the school if they have insurance to cover any damages caused by this construction--like a home-owners insurance for the school. Maybe they do, and maybe they don't; it wouldn't hurt to ask.
I really don't think you have a chance of winning anything from the school. Now if you are the 4th or 5th person to be injured or suffer loss of property due to the construction site's negligent maintenance, and these incidents were reported, and the school did nothing, that might be another story.
At this point, I'm afraid you are really on your own with no legal recourse. I still encourage you to go calmly and maturely, very much the young adult, to the principal or person in charge, and calmly and maturely explain the situation and ask if there is any remedy that the school or it's insurance may have to offer you. If you have previously gone to this person, and gone with a less than calm and mature attitude, go back and apologize and do it right. (apologize for not keeping your cool--you don't have to apologize for being mad)
At the very least, maybe they can come up with a guitar for you to use.

 

[JETX]

I agree with Ellencee. Check to see if the school has any insurance to protect you or your property while on campus during scheduled school.

And since you very probably have additional questions about your status, I offer the following:

1) "This morning, i was walking through the mud to get to one of my classes on time, when i slipped and fell."
Can you prove that you paying strict attention to your 'travel' at the time?? Can you prove that you took EVERY precaution to prevent your slipping?? Etc. These are just some of the questions that they would ask during any litigation that you might consider.

2) "This broke my guitar which I was carrying at the time. I was required to bring it for a school jazz band class i am currently enrolled in, and it was thus mandatory that i bring it every day."
Had you discussed any and all OPTIONS (storage, school supplied instrument, etc.) prior to deciding to bring your own instrument?? Especially one worth $1000.00.

3) "The unusual circumstances are that my school is currently undergoing construction. The only path to get to my class is either through the mud, or one of the two original paths left after one was closed for construction. If everyone had taken that one narrow walkway, it would have been impossible to arrive to class on time."
Did you discuss your concerns about the mud and your instrument damage PRIOR to the accident and ask if you could be allowed a few extra minutes between classes so that you cold take the more crowded route?

4) "I was wondering, if the school is somewhat liable?"
Depends on the answers to the above. And an issue of 'contributory' liability could come into play. On the surface, the best you could hope for would be that they were maybe 10% liable (if that), meaning that they would only be responsible for $100 of the total $1,000.

5) "In order to reach my class on time, i HAVE to walk through this slippery mud."
And what precautions (packaging, care, attention, etc.) did you apply for this mud?

6) "People fall on it all the time, it's just that I happened to break a $1000+ guitar."
Whoops!! There goes your whole case. You just admitted to having KNOWN that this was a hazard. Since you knew about it beforehand, and took that more hazardous route anyway, you just lost your case!

7) "Aren't schools required to label slippery surfaces?"
Generally, yes. And if they don't then they could be held fully or partly liable. However, as noted in #6 above, you already knew of the hazard.

8) "I thought this is somewhat similar to the law where if someone trips on the sidewalk in front of your house due to your improper maintenance of it, then you are liable for any damages."
Generally, you are correct. However, in this case, you were already aware of the hazard (which is what the sign would have done), so in essence, you chose your own path with knowledge of the hazards.

9) "The school could have put another path through the mud with wooden boards like they do when pouring cement, or simply extended the time we have to get to classes so that people would not be forced to go through the mud to get to class on time."
Yes, they could have done either of those. But that doesn't make them liable for YOUR choice.

10) "Is there any chance I could win this argument?"
Of course there is a chance. About the same as winning the lottery. But heck, someone has to win. Go ahead and consider filing a small claims action. It could be a good experience.

11) "Would the disctrict be willing to settle out of court for $1000, or even $500? It would be small potatoes to them, and their legal fees to defend against any lawsuit would be much, much higher."
This decision to settle probably wouldn't be made by the school district, but by their insurer (if the district even turns it in).

12) "After all, I could have broken a bone, or hurt myself badly if the impact was great enough to shatter a solid mahogany guitar neck."
What COULD have happened really has no relevance to what DID happen.

Bottom line....
1) Talk to the school. See if they are willing to help.
2) If that doesn't work, consider filing a small claims action (that is if your district isn't exempt from action).

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Our writer would have to file a "Governmental Claim for Damages" prior to going to court - - even Small Claims court.

I like this kid - - he reminds me or me - - for two reasons:

1. He's thinking. And, he knows "something" of the law; e.g., premises liability. Whether or not he's successful is one thing, but he's thinking. It reminds me of me when I was in high school, which was about the time I decided to become an attorney.

2. He's going to Leland Stanford High School - - the namesake of my Alma Mater, Stanford Law School.

My congratulations to our writer for at least trying, and making a good attempt at identifying his legal issues.

Best of fortune to you.

IAAL