Your Student Inflicted Injury Qualifies for Workers’ Comp
As a special needs educator or school employee, you face situations that are out of the ordinary more often than others in the education system. Some of these situations are dangerous or violent in nature. You may suffer a student inflicted injury while at work, one that requires medical attention, and it may qualify for workers’ compensation. You deserve compensation for your work-related injury, let us help you ensure that your claims are processed correctly and that you receive the compensation needed to cover your medical bills and other subsequent expenses. Our team of Glendale workers’ compensation lawyers can help you fight for what you deserve when workers’ compensation companies are not handling your case fairly or efficiently.
Contact our team to discuss your injury and circumstances.
Special Needs Education and Dangerous Situations
The risks that special needs educators and employees face are often a case of inadequate information or training, or a lack of preventative measures. Your safety and that of the students is of utmost importance while maintaining the right to an education for all. Knowing the risks and being prepared is key in a special needs educational situation.
Some common dangers include:
- Lack of Information: It is important for special needs teachers and aids to know about a student’s history of violence, if there are certain triggers to outbursts or if there is a specific interaction to look out for. If a student has been removed from another school due to an incident, it is important for the new teacher to be informed.
- Inadequate Training or Staffing: Teachers or aids who do not have adequate training for defense in violent situations, or who are unprepared to avoid an attack, will suffer injuries such as biting, scratching, punching or kicking. Additionally, if a school or event is understaffed, teachers are left alone, when they would be much safer with a helper in dangerous situations. This is especially true when a student is bigger than a teacher or aid, such as a high school or college student.
- Safety While Traveling: Students may be feeling vulnerable on a bus or in a travel situation because of the change in environment. Bus drivers and on-board staff are at risk due to the movement of the vehicle, the enclosed space and the close proximity of the student to other passengers. School busses and transportation often require additional staff to accompany special needs student for this reason.
Common Injuries Special Education Staff Sustain
Student-inflicted injuries are not limited to bites and scratches. Special education staff regularly sustain a wider range of injuries that can qualify for workers’ compensation, including:
- Physical assault injuries: Bites, scratches, punches, kicks, hair-pulling, and being struck with thrown objects during a behavioral outburst.
- Restraint and lifting injuries: Sprains, strains, and back or shoulder injuries from performing approved physical restraint or de-escalation holds, or from lifting and transferring students with mobility limitations.
- Head and brain injuries: Concussions or other head trauma from being struck, pushed, or from a fall during a physical altercation.
- Repetitive stress injuries: Cumulative wear on the back, shoulders, and wrists from repeated physical intervention over months or years, even without a single triggering incident.
- Psychological injuries: Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following an assault or repeated exposure to violent behavior. California law recognizes these as compensable injuries — see below.
PTSD and Psychological Injury Claims for Educators
Being assaulted by a student, or repeatedly exposed to aggressive or violent behavior, can cause lasting psychological harm. California workers’ compensation law recognizes this under Labor Code Section 3208.3, which allows educators to file a claim for a diagnosed psychiatric injury — including PTSD, anxiety, or depression — that arises from work.
Psychiatric injury claims face a higher legal bar than physical injury claims:
- Predominant cause standard: In most cases, you must show that work events were the “predominant cause” (more than 50%) of your psychiatric condition.
- Violent act exception: If your psychiatric injury resulted from being the victim of a violent act, or from direct exposure to a significant violent act, the standard is lowered — you only need to show work was a “substantial cause,” generally defined as 35–40% of the combined causation. A student-inflicted assault typically qualifies for this lower threshold.
- Six-month employment rule: You generally must have worked for your employer at least six months before filing a psychiatric injury claim, unless the injury resulted from a sudden and extraordinary employment event, such as a violent assault.
Because psychiatric claims are scrutinized closely by insurers and school districts, documentation matters. Report the incident promptly, seek an evaluation from a mental health professional, and keep records connecting your symptoms to the workplace event.
What Benefits Can You Recover?
If your claim is approved, California workers’ compensation benefits for a student-inflicted injury can include:
- Medical treatment: Coverage for doctor visits, physical therapy, psychiatric treatment, medication, and hospitalization related to the injury.
- Temporary disability benefits: Partial wage replacement if your injury keeps you out of work while you recover.
- Permanent disability benefits: Compensation if your injury results in a lasting impairment that affects your ability to work.
- Supplemental job displacement benefits: Retraining or job placement assistance if you’re unable to return to your prior role.
Injured by a Student While at Work? We Can Help.
It is an unfortunate truth that educators and employees who work with special needs children are more likely to get hurt on the job due to student inflicted injuries. Special education teachers are exposed to dangerous situations more often than their standard education counterparts. You deserve to have the medical attention and care needed for on the job trauma and injury. Our Glendale workers’ compensation attorneys are ready to help you seek the compensation that you need to cover your expenses and possible lost wages due to an on the job injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Get Workers’ Comp if a Student Hits Me?
Yes. Injuries caused by a student, including bites, hits, and other physical assaults, are generally covered by California workers’ compensation as long as the injury occurred while you were performing your job duties.
What if I Develop Ptsd or Anxiety After Being Assaulted by a Student?
California law allows claims for psychiatric injuries, including PTSD, under Labor Code Section 3208.3. Because your injury would stem from being the victim of a violent act, you likely qualify for the lower “substantial cause” standard rather than the stricter “predominant cause” standard.
Is There a Deadline to Report the Injury?
Yes. California law requires you to report a work injury to your employer as soon as possible, and generally within 30 days. Reporting promptly protects your right to benefits and strengthens your claim.
Do Paraeducators, Aides, and Bus Staff Qualify Too?
Yes. Any school employee who works directly with special needs students, including instructional aides, paraeducators, bus drivers, and one-on-one support staff, can be eligible for workers’ compensation if they’re injured on the job.
What if My School District Denies My Claim?
You have the right to appeal a denied claim. An attorney can help you gather the medical documentation and evidence needed to challenge the denial and pursue the benefits you’re owed.
What If Your School District or Insurer Denies Your Claim?
Workers’ compensation claims from special education staff are sometimes disputed, particularly psychiatric injury claims or claims where the district argues the incident wasn’t reported quickly enough. A denial is not the end of the road. You have the right to appeal, and an experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you gather medical evidence, witness statements, and documentation to challenge the denial.
Contact our team to discuss your workers’ compensation claim. Call us at (818)946-0608.
