Jacksonville School and Daycare Injury Lawyer

Parents hand their children to schools and daycares for eight hours a day on one promise: someone is watching. When that promise breaks and a child is hurt, Florida law gives families a way to hold the school or center accountable. The rules differ sharply depending on whether the school is public or private, and whether the injury happened in a classroom, on a playground, on a bus or in a daycare van.

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How Children Get Hurt at School and Daycare

  • Supervision failures — a teacher steps out, a daycare worker is covering two rooms, recess has one adult for 80 children

  • Fights and bullying the school knew about and didn’t act on

  • Playground equipment that was broken, too tall for the age group, or set over hard ground instead of mulch or rubber

  • Bus loading zones, car lines and parking lots

  • Daycare vans — children left in hot vehicles, or unbelted

  • Falls from changing tables, cribs, bleachers and stairs

  • Choking, allergic reactions and medication errors

  • Field trips, after-school programs and summer camps run by the school or a contractor

  • Corporal punishment, restraint and seclusion, which Florida law tightly limits

Public School vs. Private School vs. Daycare: Different Rules

Public schools (Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau districts). The district is a government body protected by sovereign immunity. Florida waives that immunity for negligence, but with conditions: written notice must be served on the district and the Florida Department of Financial Services before suit, the district gets an investigation period, and damages are capped unless the Legislature passes a claims bill. Individual teachers are usually immune from personal suit unless they acted in bad faith or with malice.

Private schools, church schools and charter schools. Ordinary negligence rules apply to private and church schools, there is no damage cap, and the school’s liability insurance is usually the source of recovery. Charter schools may share some of a public school’s protections; we sort that out case by case.

Licensed daycares. Florida DCF licenses child-care facilities and sets staff-to-child ratios, background-screening, transportation and supervision rules. A center that violated a licensing rule when a child was hurt has handed you most of your case. We pull the center’s inspection and complaint history from DCF on day one.

Unlicensed or “family” daycares. Many in-home providers are exempt from licensing or operate without it. They rarely carry liability insurance, and the homeowner’s policy may exclude business activity. These cases are hard but not hopeless; we look at every policy in the house.

What You Have to Prove

Schools and daycares are not insurers of children’s safety; they are required to use the care a reasonable school would use. We prove the case with:

  • The school’s own policies, ratios and supervision plans, and the gap between policy and practice

  • Incident reports, nurse logs, prior complaints, and DCF or district inspection records

  • Surveillance video, which is routinely overwritten within days unless a preservation letter arrives

  • Witness statements from staff and other parents

  • Expert testimony on playground safety standards, child-care practice and pediatric injury

Deadlines

Two years from the injury for negligence claims. Claims against a public school district require the written notice described above well before that. Do not wait for the school’s internal investigation to finish; it often won’t.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a public school in Florida if my child was hurt?

Yes. Florida waives sovereign immunity for negligence, but you must serve written notice on the district and the state before filing suit, and recoverable damages are capped by statute unless the Legislature approves a claims bill.

My child was bullied and the school ignored it. Is that a case?

It can be. If the school had notice of the bullying or a prior fight and failed to act, the resulting injury can be the school’s responsibility. Save every email, portal message and meeting note.

The daycare’s incident report says my child “fell.” I don’t believe it. What now?

Ask for the video in writing the same day, and call us. Daycare video is overwritten quickly. DCF inspection records, staff schedules and sign-in sheets often tell a different story from the incident report.

Can I sue the teacher personally?

Public-school teachers are generally immune from personal liability unless they acted in bad faith, with malice, or with wanton disregard for safety. The district is the proper defendant in most cases.

What if I signed a waiver for a field trip or after-school program?

Florida limits a parent’s power to waive a child’s future injury claims, and waivers rarely cover a school’s own negligence. Bring the form to your consultation.

📞 Call (904) 619-5244 · Text Us · Free Case Review

Free and confidential. No fee unless we recover compensation; costs and expenses may apply.

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Reviewed by Belkis Plata and Shannon Schott, attorneys Board Certified in Juvenile Law by The Florida Bar. Updated October 2026.