Now that the weather is starting to get warmer, it’s time for the annual field trips to start. For a lot of kids in and around Philadelphia (and the surrounding states, too), those trips will include time spent outdoors. Some of the more common ones might include:
- A trip to the Philadelphia Zoo
- A Constitutional walking tour of the city
- A tour of Valley Forge National Park
- A day in a park or even at the Jersey shore to examine local plants and flowers
- A school trip to Hershey Park
Whether your class is on its way to one of Philadelphia’s engaging and enriching museums or the whole school is outside in the playground for a day of fun and games, time spent outdoors can be dangerous for the kids and for you and your colleagues. But if you are a teacher in Philadelphia, and you are hurt in the course of your duties as a teacher or a chaperone, you can make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
Common outdoor injuries covered by workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania
Teachers who chaperone field trips are at risk of:
- Being bitten or stung. A bit from a sick animal or a sting from a venomous insect can have long-lasting effects on your body. If you turn out to be allergic, or if the animal bite becomes infected, you may find yourself unable to work for a long time. You may also need more medical treatment than you thought, if a bite leads to a condition like Lyme’s disease.
- Trips, slips and falls. If your field trip involves walking, you need to be especially careful where you look. That isn’t always possible when you’re trying to watch 30 small kinds at once. If you fall and break a bone, hit your head or twist your ankle, you may be able to make a workers’ compensation claim.
- Hit by a car. If you are crossing the street and a car comes out of nowhere and hits you, you could find yourself in the hospital for a long time before you are cleared to go home, let alone work. If auto accidents are not covered by workers’ comp, we can file a third party personal injury claim for you instead.
- Hit by falling objects. When your trip takes you past a construction site, under an apple tree or around exhibits with touchable pieces, the risk of being hit by a falling object increases. A heavy object can shatter the bones in your foot. A baseball or dodgeball can give you a traumatic brain injury if you are hit while playing outside with the kids.
- Acts of violence. If you are attacked by another chaperone, a stranger or even one of your students, you may be able to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Philadelphia teachers have been in the news a lot over the last few years because of acts of violence committed against them. We can help you.
The annual school trip is supposed to be fun, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be hurt. At Larry Pitt & Associates, our Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys help you obtain the benefits you need in order to recover from your injury. We also handle Social Security Disability claims for teachers whose injuries prevent them from coming back to work. To speak with a workers’ compensation lawyer in Philadelphia or at one of our surrounding offices, please contact us today. We proudly serve Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.
