Who Is Liable for School Field Trip Injuries in New Mexico?

School field trips are a cherished part of the educational experience for children across northern and central New Mexico, from the historic streets of Santa Fe and the artistic communities of Taos to the close-knit towns of Las Vegas, Mora, and Raton. Sadly, for some families and children throughout the state, a milestone in your child’s education can turn tragic.

If your child was injured while attending a school field trip, you are likely wondering who is liable for paying medical bills, prescription costs, time you missed at work, and more. The answer to this question can be complex since numerous parties could be liable for damages, including the school, field trip venue, transportation provider, and their employees. However, it is an essential element to get right since misidentification can result in a claim denial or reduction.

In This Article

New Mexico school field trip injury lawyer Marc A. Grano identifies the five potentially liable parties, how permission slips impact your claim, how to pursue compensation, and how to get free legal advice. Grano Law Offices, P.C., wrote this post to help good families in a bad situation get the general legal information they want and deserve.

The FIVE Parties Who Could Be Liable for Your Child’s Injuries

Liability is a legal concept that means “responsible for,” so when you are attempting to identify liable parties for your child’s injuries, you are looking for those who should be held responsible. Under New Mexico law, those who should be held accountable are often the ones who acted negligently, meaning they committed a breach in their general duty of care toward your child.

Oftentimes, more than one party shares liability for school field trip injuries, and if found liable, will be held responsible for paying a percentage of your child’s physical and emotional losses as well as current and future financial costs according to their degree of fault.

Below, we have helped you identify the five common parties often involved in a share of liability for student field trip injuries.

1. Schools and Governments

The New Mexico Tort Claims Act (“NMTCA”) is a law designed to balance the protection of the public treasury with a citizen’s right to seek justice. However, the NMTCA does not eliminate sovereign immunity; it reinstates it and then carves out a few particular exceptions, or “waivers.” A person can only sue a public school if their injury falls squarely within one of these narrow waivers.

• The 90-Day Notification Requirement: Under NMSA § 41-4-16, a written “Notice of Claim” must be presented to the superintendent of the school district within 90 days of the injury. Failure to provide this notice can result in a total or partial claim denial.
• Limited Waivers of Immunity: A lawsuit is only possible if the school’s negligence fits into a specific statutory waiver. For field trips, relevant waivers might include injuries resulting from the negligent “operation or maintenance” of buildings, grounds, or motor vehicles. A successful claim often depends on an attorney’s ability to frame the negligent act to fit a recognized waiver strategically.
• Two-Year Statute of Limitations: While the notice must be filed in 90 days, the actual lawsuit must be filed within two years of the injury, per NMSA § 41-4-15.15.
• Damage Caps: The NMTCA also places strict limits on the amount of compensation you can receive. Under NMSA § 41-4-19, liability is capped at $300,000 for medical expenses and $400,000 in total damages to any one person, with an overall cap of $750,000 per occurrence.

What About Private School Field Trip Injuries?

Private schools are not government entities and are not protected by the NMTCA. A claim against a private school is treated like a general personal injury claim against any other private business. As such, there is:

• No 90-day notice requirement
• A three-year statute of limitations per NMSA § 37-1-8.21
• No damages cap
• No need to overcome sovereign immunity

The stark differences between these two legal frameworks highlight the importance of correctly identifying the type of school involved from the very beginning.

What About Private School Field Trip Injuries?

Private schools are not government entities and are not protected by the NMTCA. A claim against a private school is treated like a general personal injury claim against any other private business. As such, there is:

• No 90-day notice requirement
• A three-year statute of limitations per NMSA § 37-1-8.21
• No damages cap
• No need to overcome sovereign immunity

The stark differences between these two legal frameworks highlight the importance of correctly identifying the type of school involved from the very beginning.

2. Field Trip Venues

Schools in New Mexico often send children on field trips to museums, state parks, entertainment centers, and more. These venues hold a legal responsibility toward your child and other invitees to ensure that their property is safe for visitors. If the venue failed to meet this standard, they could be held responsible for your child’s and family’s losses.

Examples of field trip venue negligence could include:

• Broken stairs and handrails
• Malfunctioning equipment
• Poor lighting
• Slippery floors
• Inadequate security
• Other forms of negligence

The school could also share some of the liability with the field trip venue if the negligent condition coincided with a failure to supervise children adequately. However, a claim against the field trip venue may allow for a more standard path toward financial recovery over restrictive NMTCA rules.

3. Transportation Providers

In most cases, transportation is the start and finish of most school field trips. Motor vehicle accidents can happen while in transit, both inside and outside of the bus or school-owned vehicle. However, the pursuit of a claim against an at-fault party could change and depend upon who owned, operated, and maintained the car.

Depending upon the facts of your case, you could file a claim against:

• School bus operators
• Private bus operators
• Train operators
• Bus contractors
• Airlines and airports
• Third-party vehicles
• Chaperone vehicles
• School-owned vehicles
• City governments
• County governments
• Other forms of field transportation

4. Employees and Chaperones

Teachers, administrators, and parent chaperones owe a duty of care to engage in reasonable supervision over students. As such, they must act reasonably to protect students from foreseeable harm when attending field trips. A breach of this duty could result in an accident and, thus, end in liability for any one of these parties.

Insurers will consider the nature of the field trip accident, including:

• Your child’s age
• Activity
• Risks involved
• Individual actions
• Other details

Ensure you get legal advice before speaking about the facts of the case with an insurance adjuster. An innocuous question on their end could be an underhanded effort to obtain self-incriminating statements and information. An attorney will help you avoid claim-barring legal mistakes so that your child gets the medical care and support they need under New Mexico law.

5. Parents and Third Parties

New Mexico law does not limit liability to the school. Parents and third parties could face liability for your child’s field trip injuries, including:

• Parents: Under NMSA § 32A-2-27, parents could be liable for up to $4,000 in damages plus court costs and attorneys’ fees if their child engaged in intentionally harmful acts against your child.

• Other third parties: An injury could occur at any point from the time your child boards the school bus to arrival at the venue and back. Therefore, other unknown third parties could be involved, such as other motorists on the roadway or visitors at the venue. If they contributed to your child’s injuries, a personal injury lawyer may recommend holding them liable.

Section Note: New Mexico follows a pure comparative negligence rule under NMSA § 41-3A-1, meaning that liability is divided among all at-fault parties. For example, if your child’s injury occurred while walking into the venue, the maintenance contractor, school, and venue could share varying amounts of liability if evidence proved that their actions contributed to the accident.

Will a Signed Permission Slip Result in a Claim Denial?

Nearly every parent has signed a permission slip that includes a “release of liability” or “hold harmless” clause. While these waivers are contracts, they are not an ironclad defense for the school or field trip venue. New Mexico courts view these agreements with skepticism, particularly when they attempt to absolve a party of its negligence and when the rights of a minor are involved. 

3 Steps for Filing a New Mexico School Field Trip Injury Claim

While the legal process is often more complex in many cases, there are THREE INITIAL STEPS you can take that will protect your rights and provide a more straightforward path toward recovery. Here is a closer look below:

Step 1. Preserve Evidence

Evidence is essential to obtaining a fair outcome. While you do not have to launch a full-scale investigation, it is helpful if you retain specific records and information so that you can refer to them later.

Here are a few tips for navigating the first step:

• Document everything: Take photos and videos of the accident scene, your child’s injuries, and area hazards.
  
• Get eyewitness information: Get the names and contact information of any teachers, chaperones, other parents, or bystanders who saw what happened.
  
• Request official reports: Obtain copies of any police reports, school incident reports, or reports filed by the field trip venue.
  
• Start a journal: Get a notebook or pain journal to track your child’s daily progress, appointments, medications, and more. This information could be helpful in the future and is admissible as evidence.

If your child is too injured and your family too strained to handle this process alone, consider speaking with a local personal injury law firm, like Grano Law Offices, P.C.; we will help you handle this process so that you can focus on your family.

Step 2. Get Free Legal Advice

Because of the strict 90-day notice deadline for claims against public schools, time is of the essence. Instead of leaving the outcome of your claim.

Contacting an experienced school injury lawyer will help your family accomplish several things:

• Understand your legal options
• Clarify all statutory deadlines
• Conduct thorough accident investigations
• Receive an initial legal assessment
• Get answers to your questions

Step 3. Take the First Step

Your free case strategy session could result in a few recommendations, including but not limited to:

• File your claim without representation
• File your claim with representation
• Get another free evaluation after they present their initial offer
• Obtain additional evidence
• Other legal options

An experienced, top-rated personal injury attorney, like Marc A. Grano, will take the time to understand your legal situation. He will emphasize your child’s physical recovery and future throughout the legal process while balancing the cost versus the benefit of various strategies. If you decide to hire us to represent your case, we do not charge advanced attorneys’ fees and will only get paid for our time and resources after you win.

Compensation Available for Your Child’s Field Trip Injuries Under NM Law

You do not have to pay for injuries that someone else caused your child under New Mexico law. If you have a bona fide, proven claim, liable parties owe you for an award that pays for your child’s physical and emotional losses as well as your family’s financial losses, including:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Ongoing healthcare costs
• Future medical costs
• Future lost earnings capacity
• Special education or tutoring needs
• Lost wages (for time missed due to medical needs)
• Your child’s physical pain and suffering
• Other civil awards

If You Lost Your Child

Our legal team wants to extend its deepest sympathies and offer its strength to your family during a very tragic, sad period. You did not deserve to endure this loss, nor do you deserve to face the devastating aftermath alone. Grano Law Offices, P.C. is a veteran-owned, family-run law firm with deep New Mexico roots; even if it is just to ask us a few initial questions, our legal team will treat your family with the empathy and honesty it deserves.

Money is often not the primary motivation behind these matters; we understand this position. However, it will help your family handle the financial, physical, and emotional losses that someone else caused, and state law has granted you specific provisions under New Mexico’s Wrongful Death Act. Ensure you act prudently since shorter deadlines apply.

How to Get a Free Case Strategy Session with a Local Field Trip Injuries Lawyer

You have every legal right to pursue an award for your child’s negligently caused injuries with a personal injury lawyer. At Grano Law Offices, P.C., we devote a significant portion of our resources to representing tort claims, such as those involving injuries on school field trips in northern and central New Mexico. Our legal team has the experience, finesse, and aplomb to navigate the delicate matter of holding your child’s school liable for their injuries.

No Upfront Attorneys’ Fees: Grano Law Offices, P.C. represents personal injury matters on a contingency-fee basis. That means you do not pay us a dime for our knowledge, time, and investigatory resources UNTIL YOU WIN COMPENSATION FOR YOUR CHILD’S INJURIES.

Connect with Grano Law Offices, P.C. for Help Today

Was your child injured on a school field trip in Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Taos, Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Santa Rosa, Raton, Mora, or the surrounding communities? If so, our highly experienced field trip injuries lawyer, Marc A. Grano, will get your family the answers it deserves as quickly as possible. Schedule your Free Case Strategy Session with Grano Law Offices, P.C. today by calling (505) 426-8711 or message us securely and privately below.