$40M Lawsuit by Virginia Teacher Shot by Student Can Proceed

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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 has ruled.

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.

Lawyers for Newport News Public Schools had tried to block the lawsuit, arguing that Zwerner was eligible only for workers’ compensation. The school board maintained that Zwerner’s injuries were directly related to her job and therefore covered under workers’ compensation, which provides up to nearly 10 years pay and lifetime medical care for injuries.

Zwerner’s attorneys countered that workers’ compensation doesn’t apply because a first-grade teacher would never anticipate getting shot: “It was not an actual risk of her job.”

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.”

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 endured multiple surgeries after a bullet struck her hand and chest. Zwerner alleges that administrators ignored multiple warnings the boy had a gun that day and had routinely dismissed ongoing concerns about his troubling behavior.

A tentative trial date for her lawsuit is scheduled for January 2025. The school board’s attorneys indicated that they would appeal the decision and said in a statement that they “fully anticipate its reversal by the appellate court.”

J. H. Verkerke, a University of Virginia law professor, said the ruling was “somewhat surprising” based on previous Virginia court decisions.