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."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.
Hoffman sided with Zwerner, concluding that her injuries “did not arise out of her employment” and therefore did not “fall within the exclusive provisions of workers’ compensation coverage.” Zwerner no longer works for the school system. A tentative trial date for her lawsuit is scheduled for January 2025.
Some legal experts expected Zwerner's lawsuit to fail under Virginia’s uncommonly strict workers' compensation law. That's because it covers workplace assaults and allegations of negligence against employers. Lawsuits that might move forward in other states often falter in the Commonwealth. The shooting revived a national dialogue about gun violence and roiled this military shipbuilding cit y near the Chesapeake Bay.
Verkerke, the law professor, said Zwerner’s attorneys needed to prove the shooting was unrelated to Zwerner’s job. Their challenge was “to somehow make out that it’s personal."Judge Hoffman noted that the boy had the gun with him from the beginning of the school day until just before dismissal.
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