A teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can press forward with her $40 million lawsuit against a school system over claims of negligence by school administrators, a judge ruled Friday. The surprise decision by Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman means that Abby Zwerner could get much more than just workers compensation for the serious injuries caused by January's classroom shooting.
Hoffman disagreed with the school board, concluding that Zwerner's injuries 'did not arise out of her employment' and therefore did not 'fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.' The judge wrote: 'The danger of being shot by a student is not one that is peculiar or unique to the job of a first-grade teacher.' Zwerner was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and endured multiple surgeries after a bullet struck her hand and chest.
It was not until the student was back in classroom that he decided to fire it once, striking ,' Judge Hoffman wrote. 'He did not at any time threaten any other student, teacher or administrator at the school with a firearm.' Zwerner’s attorneys argued in a brief last month that the boy’s 'violence was random and aimed at everyone, both in and out of school.
Workers’ compensation laws were deemed a grand bargain in the 20th century between injured workers and employers, Verkerke said. Workers lost the ability to sue in most cases, protecting employers from enormous payouts. But people who were injured gained much easier access to compensation — lost pay and medical coverage — without having to prove fault.
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