Virginia School Shooting Sparks Legal Dilemma: Workers’ Compensation or $40 Million Lawsuit for Injured Teacher?

A heated debate has emerged about the once-unimaginable shooting of a teacher by her 6-year-old student: How should the school district take care of the teacher?

Should she only get workers’ compensation for her serious physical injuries? Or does she deserve the chance to sue the school system for millions of dollars over claims that it failed to protect her?

Attorneys are likely to argue over those questions Friday in the Virginia city of Newport News, where Abby Zwerner is suing the public schools for $40 million. The former first-grade teacher was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and endured multiple surgeries after a bullet struck her hand and chest.