NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A teacher shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can proceed with $40 million against the school system for alleged negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday.
A surprise ruling by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman means Abby Zwerner can get more than workers’ compensation for serious injuries caused by a classroom shooting in January.
Attorneys for Newport News Public Schools have tried to block the lawsuit, arguing that Zwerner is only entitled to workers’ compensation. It provides up to almost 10 years of salary and lifetime medical care for injuries.
Hoffman disagreed with the school board, concluding that Zwerner’s injuries “did not arise out of his employment” and therefore did not “come within the exclusive provision of workers’ compensation coverage.”
The judge wrote: “The danger of being shot by a student is not something special or unique to the job of a first grade teacher.”
Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and underwent several surgeries after bullets hit his arm and chest. Zwerner claims that administrators ignored multiple warnings that the boy had a gun that day and routinely dismissed persistent concerns about his troubling behavior.
“This victory is an important stepping stone in our path to justice for Abby,” Zwerner’s attorneys, Diane Toscano, Jeffrey Breit and Kevin Biniazan, said in a statement.
Abby Zwerner, a teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student, attends a hearing for a civil suit she filed against Newport News Public Schools, Friday, Oct. 27. 2023.AP
“We look forward to continuing our quest for accountability and a just and equitable recovery,” they said. “No teacher expects to stare down the barrel of a gun held by a six-year-old student.”
Attorneys for the school board indicated that they would appeal Friday’s decision and said in a statement that they “fully expect its reversal by the appeals court.”
The school board contended that Zwerner’s injuries were directly related to his employment and therefore covered under workers’ compensation.
“The real occupational risk in this scenario is a teacher getting hurt at the hands of a student which, unfortunately, is a fairly common occurrence and one that is on the rise in this day and age,” school board attorney Anne Lehran said in a statement.
Zwerner can proceed with a $40 million lawsuit against Newport News Public Schools, a judge ruled Friday, Nov. 3.AP
Some legal experts expect Zwerner’s lawsuit to fail under Virginia’s unusual workers’ compensation laws. This is because it covers workplace assaults and allegations of negligence against the employer. Legal actions that might move forward in other states often falter in the Commonwealth.
Zwerner’s attorney argued that workers’ compensation didn’t apply because a first-grade teacher wouldn’t expect to be shot: “It’s not a real risk of her job.”
A tentative trial date for Zwerner’s lawsuit is scheduled for January 2025.
A classroom shooting by a first-grader has reignited a national dialogue about gun violence and roiled this naval shipyard town near the Chesapeake Bay.
Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va.AP
In early January, the 6-year-old pulled out his mother’s gun and shot Zwerner as he sat at a reading table. He rushed his other students into the hallway before collapsing in the school office.
Zwerner sued in April, alleging school officials ignored several warnings that the boy had a gun and was in a violent mood.
Police said the shooting was intentional. Zwerner claimed school officials knew the boy “had a history of random violence” at school and home, including when he “choked” his kindergarten teacher.
JH Verkerke, a University of Virginia law professor, previously told The Associated Press that Zwerner’s lawyers face an uphill battle under the state’s workers’ compensation laws. He said they had to prove the shooting was unrelated to Zwerner’s job, even though he was shot in his classroom.
Judge Matthew W. Hoffman presided over Zwerner’s civil suit. The school system has argued that Zwerner’s injuries fall under Virginia workers’ compensation laws. AP
Their challenge is “to make sure that it’s personal,” Verkerke said.
In his ruling Friday, Judge Hoffman wrote that the shooting of Zwerner was “personal.”
Judge Hoffman noted that the boy carried the gun from the beginning of the school day until just before dismissal.
“It wasn’t until the student returned to (Zwerner’s) classroom that he decided to dismiss him once, hitting (Zwerner),” Judge Hoffman wrote. “He did not at any time threaten any student, teacher or other administrator at the school with a firearm.”
Zwerner sued in April, saying school officials ignored several warnings that the boy had a gun and had a history of violent behavior. AP
Zwerner’s attorneys argued in a brief last month that “the boy’s violence was random and directed at everyone, inside and outside of school.”
He “insisted that he was angry because people were ‘taunting’ his friend, a motivation that had nothing to do with (Zwerner),” his lawyer wrote without elaborating. “The motivation is personal.”
The school board disagreed and questioned how the shooting could be anything but work-related.
Responding to the judge’s decision Friday, the school board’s attorney said “it is clear that the student and Ms. Zwerner only knew each other through their teacher-student relationship.”
“For a ‘personal’ action to defeat the exclusivity of the Workers’ Compensation Act, the personal motive must be unrelated to … employment,” they wrote.
Workers’ compensation law was considered the grand bargain of the 20th century between injured workers and employers, Verkerke said. Employees lose the ability to sue in most cases, protecting employers from large payouts. But injured people have easier access to compensation — lost wages and medical coverage — without having to prove fault.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
