So sad to hear this.

I'm interested to know if you find out anything about a law suit. With my "Judge Judy" expertise there certainly is an "expectation" of safety, and leaving the cage unlocked was clearly negligence. It would be different if someone had broken into the cage.

When the kids put their bikes in the cage to they lock them individually too? If they don't, because they assume the cage is there to protect them, that might be a point too. If they knew the cage might be left open they might have taken the opportunity to secure the bike within the cage.

Unless there is somewhere a "not responsible for stolen or damaged stuff" clause somewhere... and I assume they don't make parents sign a waiver before the kids store their bikes there. Even if there is such a clause there is still an expectation that the school is going to do its part by locking the cage. Even a contractual waiver doesn't give them license to be negligent.

If you can, take a picture of the bike cage... I'm wondering if you pursue this the school might add a sign that says "not responsible..." (assuming there isn't one there now) and if it went to court and they had pictures with the sign and you had pictures without the sign... lets just say that Judge Judy would seize the opportunity to "take them down".

That's all really unimportant though... most important is your son. Glad this didn't involve anything that injured him physically. I really think he'll be OK because he has a Dad that is supportive. I honestly know lots of kids who's dad would actually yell at them if their bike was stolen, like it was their fault, and wouldn't to anything to replace it, let alone look out for their emotional well being.

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